Crossing Paths
by Dragonsroses
Summary: What if the infamous Elric brothers had an older sister? One who they looked up to and would do anything for. One who cared for them so much that she'd give her life to protect them. (Also uploaded on Quotev)
1. Beginnings

( **A/N:** Just to let you all know, Myra is 3 years older than Ed, making her 4 years older than Al. Also, this story will be following the Brotherhood timeline.

Myra has gold eyes just like Ed and Al. She also has gold hair, lighter than Al's but a shade darker than Ed's, that is currently shoulder length. She also has her mother's features).

"Myra!"

The said girl turned her head to face the one who called her name as she walked through the front door of her home. A wide grin grew on her face as she instantly recognized the voice of her younger brother, Edward, as he launched himself at his sister causing Myra to fall on her butt. The two just laughed.

Her youngest brother, Alphonse, who was still just a baby, crawled over to his laughing siblings with a smile of his own. He leaned against Myra's arm, who pulled him into a gentle hug which he tried to return as much as he could.

"How was helping Granny Pinako and Winry at the shop?" Their mother, Trisha, asked as she came out of the kitchen greeting her kids with a kind smile.

Myra didn't know too much about automail, unlike the Rockbells, but Granny Pinako always appreciated her help whenever they needed it, especially since Winry's parents would be leaving to aid in the Ishvalan war soon. Not to mention Winry loved having a girl to play with, even if Myra was older than her.

"It was fun! Granny Pinako taught me more stuff about automail and I got to play with Winry," Myra said giving her mother a smile of her own. "But now I'm hungry." she said suddenly.

Trisha chuckled a bit, picking up Al to carry him while Myra helped Ed to his feet before he latched onto his mother. "Well good timing, because its about time for dinner." She said.

"Yay!" The young girl cheered as she skipped towards the kitchen along side her mother and brothers.

"Hey, Mom?" The girl suddenly asked, stopping in her tracks. A slight frown forming on her lips as she passed her father's empty study.

"Hmm?" She hummed in reply.

"Where's Dad?" Myra asked looking up at her mother.

"Oh, your father went out for a bit. He'll be back soon." Trisha said with a kind smile.

"Oh, ok." Myra said forcing a smile of her own.

As the four family members walked into the kitchen everyone took their usual spots at the dinner table. Trisha set two plates in front of Myra and Ed before sitting down to feed Al his baby food.

Myra shoveled the food into her mouth, finishing her dinner in record time. She got up from her spot at the table and stood up on her toes so she could just barely put her dishes into the sink.

"Done already?" Her mother asked, startling the girl a bit.

"Y-Yeah." She replied. "I just wanted to, um, play outside in the yard for a bit."

"Alright, just be careful." Trisha said before Myra nodded and swiftly ran out of the room. Trisha smiled, still looking as to where her daughter left, knowing full-well what she really intended on doing. She turned her attention back to her youngest as Al sat there amused by random objects in the kitchen and Ed too absorbed in his mother's delicious cooking. The two not noticing the sudden disappearance of their sister.

Myra quietly ran into her father's study and grabbed a book she was familiar with before running outside of the house.

Trisha knew that her daughter secretly practiced alchemy. She knew that Myra wanted to be a powerful and well-known alchemist and protect her brothers. Myra also wanted to make her parents proud. All in all, Trisha was proud of her daughter's ambitions.

Myra opened the book to a specific page she had marked and pulled out a piece of chalk. She drew an exact copy of the transmutation circle that was in the book, something she's been practicing for a while now. Myra then set the chalk down and clapped her hands together before quickly setting it on the drawn circle. A blue light crackles underneath her fingers and she removed her hand to reveal the result. There in the middle of the circle lay a small clay dog.

Myra giggled. ' _It looks just like Den!'_ She thought, referring to the Rockbell's new puppy. Myra was so caught up in her excitement that she didn't notice the gray clouds beginning to cover the setting sun until she felt a single drop of rain fall on her head, causing her to look up.

"Myra!" Trisha called from the door causing the said girl to quickly hide the book and clay dog behind her back. "It's about to rain, come inside."

"Okay Mom, I'm coming!" She called walking up to her house with the book and clay dog still behind her back, making it inside the house just as the rain began to pour.

She set the clay dog on the windowsill just by her bed when she suddenly heard her brothers' excitement. Hearing her father's voice she realized he was home and paled a bit not wanting him to know just yet that she's been practicing alchemy. Without being noticed, Myra snuck into her father's study, putting the book exactly where she had gotten it from before quickly running out to greet her father.

Later that night Trisha noticed that the house had gotten a lot quieter in the past half hour. The last time she realized her children were all playing together in the living room. She decided to look for them so she could put Al to sleep and make sure Ed and Myra get to sleep too. She started with the living room only to find it empty, except for her husband passed out on the couch from a long day. Trisha silently laughed to herself before then deciding to check Myra's room.

There she found Myra, her back against the side of her bed. Ed was on her left leaning on her shoulder with Myra's arm around him. Al was in her lap with Myra's hand placed on his small back. All three sound asleep with a tossed picture book to the side.

Trisha smiled at her three beautiful children. Not knowing that this would be the first of many nights she found them like this.

It was then that she noticed the clay dog on the windowsill. Trisha carefully picked it up and looked at Myra, knowing full-well how she made it. _'You three are definitely going to take after your father'._ Trisha smiled to herself once more.


	2. Beginning of the End

A 5-year old Edward and a 4-year old Alphonse sleepily walked down the hall in the middle of the night hearing their parents' voices.

"H-hey, why are two up so early?" Trisha asks putting a small smile on her face and walking over to her sons.

"Al says he needs to go to the bathroom..." Ed yawned.

"Oh, so you were looking after Al." She says crouching down to their eye level, "Thank you, Ed."

Hohenheim looked at his two sons, his face softening a bit as Edward made eye contact with him.

Myra, hearing her family's voices had woken up and decided to see what was going on. Rubbing her eyes and stopping behind her brothers to look up at her father. Barely managing to suppress his emotions as Trisha moved out of the way a bit revealing his three kids staring at their father with their big golden eyes, unsure of what was going on.

Hohenheim looked away from his beloved children, closing his eyes for a few seconds to suppress his emotions before opening them again. He took one last glance at his family before turning around and walking out the door, without a word, for what would be the last time.

Even after Hohenheim left, his remaining four family members continued to live in peace in their home village of Resembool.

That's when the Elric boys began displaying a remarkable talent for alchemy. Studying from their father's books that were left in his study, just as Myra still does. She helped to teach her younger brothers so they didn't have to learn just from books. They proved to be progressing very well for their young ages. Trisha saw it all and it made her happy, and wanting to make their mother happy, especially after Hohenheim's departure, her children became obsessed in learning alchemy at their young ages. She was proud of all three of her kids and knew that they'd become amazing alchemists someday.

However, one day Trisha fell ill. She had always been the greatest source of comfort for her kids and they had done everything they could to make her smile. But her illness was inevitable and later in the year of 1904, it left the three Elric siblings orphaned. While mourning Trisha's death, Edward vowed to his brother that they'd one day bring their mother back with alchemy.

The funeral was small. People came to pay their respects, including Winry and Granny Pinako. Myra placed a hand on each of her brothers' shoulders, pulling them closer to her when they shivered. Her own silent tears mixed with theirs as it hit the ground. Myra looked around at all the people who had attended Trisha's farewell, disappointed when she realized that her father wasn't even going to come home for his wife's funeral.

The Elric siblings lived on their own from then on. Myra did her best, she did everything she could to support her brothers. She put them in front of herself and even tried to lift their spirits in the slightest after their mother's death. It proved to be a difficult task, especially since Myra was mourning just as much as her brothers were, but even so she never got very far in trying to cheer them up. She loves her brothers more than anything and hated seeing them the way they were.

As the boys began studying to resurrect their mother, they kept it to themselves. Wanting to surprise her and see their sister smile once they did resurrect their mother, Myra was left in the dark about their plans.

She noticed how secretive they were being and tried to find out what they were hiding, but the two boys hid it well. They seemed so sad and broken but whatever it is they were doing seemed to be giving them hope. Myra later decided to leave them alone after seeing the determination in her brothers' eyes, completely unaware as to what they really had in mind.

Time went on and when visiting the Rockbells one afternoon in the year 1908, the siblings learned that Urey and Sarah Rockbell, Winry's parents who were doctors sent to aid in the Ishvalan war, were killed.

Myra was horrified to learn about their deaths. Urey and Sarah were doctors who were healing the innocent on both sides. Both were kind and gentle people who didn't deserve to die so young... like her mother, Trisha.

Myra knew that this world was corrupted. She had a gut feeling that things were going to get worse. She couldn't get far in alchemy on her own. She knew that she'd need help, that she'd need a teacher if she was going to become an alchemist capable of protecting her brothers and helping those in need.

Leaving them was the last thing that she wanted. She didn't want to be separated from Ed or Al. But when she finally found someone who could teach her, Myra realized that she'd have to leave Resembool for at least a year, and she couldn't bring her brothers with her. Myra talked it over with Granny Pinako and Ed and Al. Her brothers, wanting her to become a better alchemist, encouraged her to go, trying their best to hide the sorrow that would fill their hearts once Myra leaves. Granny Pinako promised to look after them and with Ed and Al's approval, Myra left to train under her new teacher and sensei.

It had been almost a year before Myra returned home to Resembool and was now 13 years old.

"My? Myra?!" Ed and Al said at the same time as they saw Myra approach the Rockbells' house. Ed and Al were there to play with Winry. Myra had gotten back not too long ago and when she discovered that they weren't at home she dropped off her bag and had come to see if they were here. They jumped on her causing her to fall back, but the girl smiled and hugged her brothers back just as tight as they each gave her a kiss on her cheek.

A gasp caused Myra to look up. "Myra!" was what she heard before the poor girl was again tackled, but this time by Winry, who also embraced her in a hug.

"Now what's going on out here?" Granny Pinako opened the front door allowing Den to greet Myra as well. When Pinako saw Myra, a warm smile grew on her lips as she said, "Why don't you and the boys stay for dinner?" To which Myra happily agreed.

A few weeks have gone by since and things were starting to go back to the way they were after Trisha's death.

Until, Myra was kidnapped. No one knew why or by who. But both Edward and Alphonse knew that their sister was stronger than she looked and believed that she was still alive. They still wanted more than anything to resurrect their mother to see her smiling face, but they also wanted their sister back. They knew their sister's strengths and trusted that one day she'd come back to them. And maybe their mother would know how to get Myra back. Because there was no way Myra could be dead.

That's when it all happened,

Meeting and training under Izumi Curtis for a year.

Making a human transmutation trying to resurrect their deceased mother.

Ed losing an arm and leg, Al losing his body.

Falling into a depressed state.

And finally, Colonel Roy Mustang delivering news of their now deceased older sister and offering Ed a chance to become a State Alchemist to help restore his and Al's bodies.

( **A/N:** Ok, so I know this chapter was really fast paced, but things will be revealed in later chapters, I swear).


	3. Al, I swear it!

A 15-year old Edward and a 14-year old Alphonse walked along a dirt road. They were off to see Colonel Mustang in his office. It's only been a day since the boys had exposed Cornello of deceiving the townspeople of Liore. And since then, Al has been thinking of his deceased sister, Myra, more than usual. There was just something about Rosé that reminded him of her. Sure, Myra didn't really look anything like her and was a lot stronger than Rosé, but she seemed so kind and gentle... just like Myra.

"Hey, Brother?" He asked his older brother who walked a few steps ahead of him.

"Yeah, Al?" Ed replied nonchalantly with his hands behind his head as he walked.

Al tried to get the words to come out, but for some reason it was difficult, "Um, do you think that— I mean, did Rosé remind you of Myra... a bit?"

Ed immediately put his arms at his side. Opening his eyes that had just been closed, Ed turned his head to look at his younger brother, decreasing his walking speed in the slightest, "Huh?" he asked.

"Well, um, I was just thinking of how she kind of reminded me of how Myra... was. I mean, she was kind and loyal to the ones she cared for, just like Sister."

Ed turned back around and closed his eyes once more. "No. Rosé didn't remind me of her." was all he said as he continued walking.

Alphonse stayed silent until his brother spoke up a few seconds later, "Rosé's nothing like Myra. Myra was strong. No matter what was thrown at her she would always stand on her feet, especially when it involved the two of us. Heck, even when Mom died she was just as devastated as we were, yet she did everything she could've done for us at the time to make sure we were well." Ed looked down when he finished as Al recalled the memories.

Al remembered full-well the day the Colonel told them that Myra had died. It was one of the two reasons Mustang had come to Resembool in the first place, the other being to find the 'skilled alchemist' he had heard about. Shock and horror had filled the two of them upon hearing the news that couldn't possibly had come at a worse time. Ed's eyes had dulled even more, if that was even possible, as silent tears leaked from his eyes and showed no sign of wanting to stop. Al on the other hand, could not cry due to being a soul attached to a suit of armor, no matter how much he wanted to. Memories of Myra had filled his head and the realization that she had met the same fate as their mother made him want to scream.

Apparently, there was an explosion at an abandoned factory. And Myra who had just escaped from her captors had hid in there. It's suspected that her captors had then decided to get rid of her and blew the whole factory up. Who kidnapped her or why she was kidnapped is still unknown.

It took a bit of time afterwards, but once both boys calmed down and Mustang had offered them a chance to get their bodies back, a new fire seemed to burn in one boy's eyes.

There wasn't a day that went by that neither boys didn't once think of their mother or sister. But they were both gone and there was no bringing back the dead. Now they just wanted to restore their bodies.

 _There is no going back_ , that's what they told themselves the day they left Resembool.

~Flashback~

A warm light illuminated the surrounding area. If it weren't for the moon or the stars, it'd be the only light till morning. The heat radiating off did little for the two boys watching their house burn down on that chilly October night. Once precious items, and a place to call home that once held such fond and happy memories burned before their eyes as Ed tossed his lit torch in the flames. ' _We can't go back'_ , was the thought that ran through their minds. _This_ was a reminder for them.

 _They're dead..._

 _Mom..._

 _Myra..._

 _Why couldn't you stay? Just for a little while longer?_

 _Why wasn't it meant to be?_

The two brothers, who had lost their dear mother and beloved sister at such young ages, wanted to get their bodies back, wanted to get things back to the way they were, didn't want to lose all that they had left... each other.

 _I need to make this right, because of me you have suffered._

 _I was supposed to protect you, my younger brother._

 _Al, I was a fool..._

Van Hohenheim. Their father who just up and vanished. No one knew if he was even dead or alive. But to Ed, it didn't matter. He had left their mother for so long and didn't even bother to show up to the funeral.

 _Hohenheim? Who needs him?_

No more will they see their mother's smile or look to her for comfort. She won't be there to provide the motherly love that every child deserves. The way she was proud of her children whenever they practiced alchemy, the way she giggled at their antics, can never be heard again.

 _I dreamed of bringing you back, which made me blind._

 _Now my brother is with a soul but without a body._

 _The fault is mine, I'm sorry, Al._

There was no longer an eldest sibling that both boys could rely on. One who would help them with their alchemy and play with them tirelessly for hours. One who'd always look out for her younger siblings. One who loved to laugh and rarely ever frowned.

 _Where we go from here is up to us._

 _Will we ever forget and forgive?_

 _They're gone... forever._

 _Now all we can do is live._

Trisha and Myra may be gone, but they'd want both Edward and Alphonse to continue living happily. And the two boys knew that they had to, not just for their mother and sister, but for each other too.

 _The past is in the past, but we're both to blame._

 _Nothing can erase what we did but,_

 _I'll make it right._

 _Al, I swear it!_

( **A/N:** Ed's thoughts in italics are based off of "Brothers" by Vic Mignogna who, in case you didn't know, wrote the song for Ed and Al's characters.)


	4. Fifth Laboratory:Enter CloakedAlchemists

"You're pretty fast for a guy so big. That's good or else it wouldn't be any fun for me!"

"Who are you?!" Al demanded.

"I'm number 66. That's just my work name, though. I'll dismantle you neatly." Al got into a ready stance. "So go ahead and wail!"

Alphonse was currently fighting Barry the Chopper outside the fifth laboratory while Edward faces Slicer the Homicide inside. They were strictly told not to come here by Major Armstrong, but they had to figure out what Doctor Marcoh meant by ' _the truth hidden within the truth_ '. In order to do that, they had to investigate the making of a Philosopher's Stone at that laboratory.

"I'll tell you everything as a parting gift, boy." Slicer was saying to Ed, his armoured head separated from his armoured body. Ed had blood on the side of his face and a small gash on his left shoulder. He sat on the floor, leaning against a pillar. He held his side with his right arm, listening to every word Slicer had to say. "The one who created the Philosopher's Stone and told us to guard this place is—"

At that moment, several thin sharp blades shot out of the entranceway. Two stabbed Slicer's head.

Ed gasped as Lust revealed herself and smiled, "That was close. You can't be talking about things like that, 48." she said as she brought the helmet to her hand, Envy appearing beside her.

"Huh? What's the Fullmetal runt doing here?" Envy grinned evilly.

"What a troublesome child. How did you find out about this place?"

Lust sliced the helmet in half as Envy stabbed the blood rune multiple times on the armored body as it yelled for it's brother. "You're so annoying, dumbass! You guys were about to kill a precious sacrifice." Envy continued to lecture and stab him as Ed grew angry.

He began questioning them about what Envy just said, but all Envy did was provoke him by making fun of his size. Ed tried to fight until his automail arm stopped working, the cause being a forgotten screw in the shoulder by Winry the last time they saw her.

This gave Envy the perfect opportunity to knee the golden haired boy in the gut and hold him by his hair before dropping him to the floor.

Ed grunted on the floor. Lust reminded Envy that the golden haired boy was being kept alive as she decided to burn the laboratory down to prevent anyone from finding it ever again.

Outside, Al continued to fight Barry the Chopper. His explanation of how Al might not have been human in the first place was causing him to question his memories as a child and even his brother. These dark thoughts allowed his movements to slow.

Barry had gotten Al to his knees and he lifted his butcher knife above his head to slice the youngest Elric.

But then, the sound of metal making contact with metal could be heard as the knife was knocked to the ground.

"Huh?!" Barry was clearly confused as he stared at his empty hand.

Al looked to his left to see who had just saved him. He expected to see his brother or even Denny Brosh or Maria Ross, their current escorts. He certainly didn't expect to see three cloaked alchemists, each wearing a cloak of a different colour. The one in front, who Al assumed was the one who knocked Barry's knife away, wore a dark blue cloak. The other two had a dark grey cloak and dulled red cloak. The three each had their hoods up, creating a shadow to cover the top halves of their faces. Even though their faces couldn't be seen, their body types gave away if they were male or female. The one with the blue cloak being male and the ones with the grey and red cloaks being female.

Al assumed they were alchemists when he saw the blue crackling light coming out of a transmutation circle on the ground by the blue cloaked alchemist, making a weapon and readying it in a matter of seconds. The grey cloaked alchemist doing the exact same thing, but the red cloak just got into a battle ready position.

"This isn't good..." Barry rubbed the back of his neck.

"Wh-who are you?" Al asked. Even though one of them just probably saved his life, they were still suspicious figures.

Just as the grey cloaked alchemist was about to respond, the ground and building began to shake, easily wavering everyone's balance. "We're on your side!" she shouted over the noise. "That's all you need to know."

The building was starting to collapse.

"The other one must be inside!" said the blue cloaked male, his voice deep. "Raven!"

"Right!" The red cloaked female known as Raven nodded as she started running towards the falling building. She strategically moved around falling debris. She slammed her hands together, using alchemy to destroy a particularly large piece of debris that was blocking her path. She was out of sight within no more than a few seconds. Alphonse noted that her speed was amazing.

Barry began to run away from the unravelling chaos, but the one cloaked in grey went after him.

Inside, Raven used her speed to dodge more falling debris. Following the sound of a laughter that was familiar to her, she came across an almost empty room. She noticed a young golden haired boy faced down in the middle of the floor unconscious, so she couldn't see his face. She assumed he was the Fullmetal Alchemist she's been hearing so much about.

She was halfway to the boy when she noticed two figures in the corner of the room. " _You,_ " Raven said through gritted teeth, venom in her voice. It was then that the girl realized the familiar laughter she heard came from Envy.

"We knew you three would show up." Envy smirked.

"Well we'd love to stay and chat but I'm afraid we don't have the time right now." Lust said in her usual calm voice that sent shivers down Raven's spine.

She was about to advance towards them but another pillar fell in front of her, effectively blocking her path and reminding her of the Fullmetal boy.

Without looking at his face which was covered by his bangs, she picked up the unconscious boy and threw him over her shoulder, being careful of his injuries.

"Brother! Brother!" Al yelled from outside. But before he could start advancing toward the collapsing laboratory the blue cloaked male grabbed his arm. "She'll get him out of there. I promise." he said trying to reassure him.

Despite deeming them as suspicious figures moments ago, Al had a strange feeling that he could trust these alchemists. But he was questioning his entire life right now and wasn't quite sure. "But—" he began but was cut off by the arrival of Sergeant Brosh and Lieutenant Ross.

"Alphonse!" Ross said as she and Brosh ran up to the two.

Before anyone could get another word out, Raven walked out of the collapsing building with Ed over her shoulder. "Brother!" Al yelled as he ran up to them.

Raven set him on the ground, his face still covered by his bangs. "He'll be alright, he just lost a lot of blood. Get him to the hospital, and quick."

Ross nodded firmly. "Wait, who are you three?" Al questioned.

"We need to catch up with Azure." said the blue cloaked alchemist who stood behind Brosh. He was referring to their grey cloaked companion.

Raven nodded and in the blink of an eye they were gone, leaving Al's question unanswered.

Ed laid in a hospital room with a bandage wrapped around his head. Sergeant Brosh and Lieutenant Ross, who were standing at his bedside, just finished scolding him about how he and Al snuck out last night to investigate the fifth laboratory.

"Oh... now that I think about it, where's, Al?"

"I scolded him with a fist earlier." Brosh said, anime crying and holding up his throbbing red hand for Ed to see.

Ed began to laugh, but that seemed to hurt.

At that moment, Al walked in. For obvious reasons, a facial expression could not be read, but he seemed to be in a gloomy state.

"Hey, Al." Ed said with a small smile, oblivious to his brother's state.

Al tried to shake off the depressing feeling as he turned to Brosh and Ross. "Who were those three alchemists last night?" he asked.

"Huh?" They said simultaneously. Ed wasn't conscious at the time they showed up, but he was told of what happened.

"Those cloaked alchemists," he said. "One of them saved Brother's life. And you both seemed to trust them right away."

Ross sighed, "I guess you two don't know about them then." Ed and Al exchanged a confused glance.

"Detailed information about them is classified, but they are quite known for what they do. Although, some people just say that they're just rumors and don't actually exist. They haven't been working as a group for very long and it's only temporary, which makes their quick reputation that much more impressive. You've really never heard of them?" Ross asked.

Ed and Al shook their heads, so Ross continued to explain, "Those three temporarily work for the military. They're powerful alchemists who have been through certain situations— and I'm telling you right now that I have no idea what those situations are. They fight to protect the lives of others and wear cloaks for reasons related to those 'certain situations', or so I'm told. An obvious explanation would be to conceal their identities."

"Why was their group formed?" Ed asked.

"Each of them has a special skill set required for missions given to them by Fuhrer King Bradley himself." Brosh explained. "Although," he lowered his voice to a whisper and leaned in closer. "I did hear Colonel Mustang talking about them once to Lieutenant Hawkeye. And I overheard that there was supposed to be a fourth member, but he lost life before the Fuhrer could even assemble the team."

"That's just a rumor." Ross scolded him for eavesdropping on the Colonel's conversation.

"So are the Cloaked Alchemists," he countered. "But we know for a fact that they're real."

"Anyway," Ross continued, trying to ignore her partner. "In case you were wondering, the one with the blue cloak is known as Ash, the grey one is Azure and the one with the red cloak is Raven. But of course, those are just cover names. They do wear cloaks for a reason." she shrugged.

Ed put a hand on his chin, his face now serious, processing the information he was just given. "So these 'Cloaked Alchemists' are really skilled, right?" he asked for confirmation.

The Sergeant and Lieutenant both nodded. "Would you happen to know if they ever needed to collect intel for some of their missions?"

"It's very likely." Brosh answered, and Ross nodded in agreement.

"I wonder if they know anything about the Philosopher's Stone." Ed thought out loud. It was then that he suddenly remembered his broken automail, knowing that he'd have to call and face an angry Winry. His face went from serious to taking on a nervous, almost comical, look to those around him.


	5. On That Night

Later one night, Hughes continued his investigation on the problems in Liore, the fifth laboratory and the Ishval Civil war, trying to find a connection. As he looks into the news of recent Letoist riots in Reole, a strange realization causes him to rush to the record room alone. He needed to confirm it was true.

As he reached for the knob to the record room, it was yanked open from the inside, revealing a girl in a dull red cloak. She adjusted her hood, as if she had just pulled the hood up.

"Ahh, it's been a while—"

"Shh!" Raven shushed him. "You're not supposed to use my real name in public, remember?"

Even though no one was around but them, Hughes understood. "Sorry, I forgot about the whole 'alias' thing for a moment." he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, trying to bring his usual cheery voice into it, but the distressed feeling in the pit of his stomach only grew.

"Here to do some research?" she asked, picking up on his vibe that was unusually humourless.

Suddenly pulling down his façade, his face went serious, something uncommon for Maes Hughes. The dim lighting made his features look more stoic than they appeared, adding to the grim atmosphere. "Yeah. And you were doing the same thing?" he guessed.

She nodded. "Just needed to do a bit of research for our next assignment tomorrow."

"Good luck." he said.

"Yeah, you too." she responded.

They began walking again, but just as they passed each other, Raven stopped. "Colonel, be careful, okay? You have a wife and daughter you need to get back to."

Hughes nodded firmly, "I know. Thanks. Take care of yourself." He added and Raven nodded in response.

And with that, the two resumed what they were doing before they ran into each other.

Not too long after was a funeral held for Maes Hughes, who had been promoted to Brigadier General after his death. Later in the afternoon, Mustang stood by his friend's grave. A white wreath was placed upon it. Another separate white flower sat next to it, but Roy paid little attention to it, already knowing full-well who had placed it there. He was both devastated and enraged by his friend's death, but being who he was, the Colonel tried not to show much emotion. That didn't last long in the beginning as tears began falling from his eyes. 

( **A/N:** This was supposed to be a part of Chapter 4, but I figured it'd be too long. Anyways, please don't hesitate to review and give some feedback, it'd be greatly appreciated!)


	6. Is it really you?

Hands made of concrete reached out to grab Scar, which he was barely able to dodge. They were fighting by an old railway and Al was doing his best to hold off against Scar until his brother arrived, so they could defeat the Ishvalan together.

Concrete and other nearby materials flew through the air as the two alchemists used the resources around them to take the other out.

"Is that all you've got?" Scar mocked the suit of armour.

"Not even close!" Al shot back as he threw a punch at Scar's face, now switching to regular physical attacks. Scar dodged the punch as several more followed.

As he dodged each punch, Scar's hand, which was hidden behind his back, crackled blue as he readied for an attack. Just as he was about to strike, he was suddenly caught off guard by a punch in the gut, causing him to fly back.

Scar grunted as his back made contact with a freight car.

He slowly got back up. But before Scar could say anything to Al, a kick to his face sent him flying back again. Al easily recognized the person who just arrived on scene.

"Brother!"

"Hey, Al!"

"Look out!"

Ed was able to heed his brother's warning in time to just barely jump out of the way from an attack from Scar. He landed effortlessly on his feet next to his brother.

Ed and Al stood beside each other in battle positions as Scar did the same a few feet across from them.

Unfortunately, their battle was promptly interrupted by a sudden voice.

"Found you!" the voice cried. Gluttony landed on his feet as he jumped from high ground to be in the middle of their fight. "The Ishvalan!"

"That tattoo!"

"A homunculus!"

Gluttony launched into an attack right away, launching himself at Scar. Scar was quick, though, and instead, Gluttony swiftly ends up on the ground by Scar's hand. Scar, with his right hand already placed on Gluttony's back, used his destructive alchemy to make him cough up blood.

The effect didn't last long as just a few seconds later, a red light crackled around Gluttony, signaling his regenerative abilities and revival from Scar's attack.

Before he could process what just happened, Scar was thrown against the freight car again with Gluttony slamming into him not even a second later.

He released himself from Scar, but didn't have time to do anything else before Ed and Al delivered a kick right in Gluttony's face, causing him to stumble back.

"I've had enough of—!"

Whatever Ed was going to say, he was cut off by the concrete below Gluttony shooting up on a slant, throwing him into another freight car.

"Now!" someone shouted.

Three cloaked figures emerged from seemingly out of no where. All three kept their heads down, still allowing a shadow to cover the top halves of their faces, despite the daylight.

"The Cloaked Alchemists?!" Al accidentally said his thoughts. He shocked by their sudden appearance. Ed was also astonished as they made their entrance.

To Ed and Al it seemed that the one in the blue cloak, Ash, was the one who had given the order.

The one in the red cloak, Raven, had kept her eyes on her target the entire time and when given the order, started advancing towards Gluttony at amazing speed. The one in the grey cloak, Azure, also advancing towards Gluttony, but not as fast. But Ash stayed where he was, leaning against the closest object, all his weight seemed to be put on his left foot.

For a moment or two, Ed and Al watched as two of the Cloaked Alchemists faced off against Gluttony. Even though it was just the two of them fighting, both boys could tell that they were worthy of their reputation. Ed's eyes trailed on Raven. The way she moved seemed familiar, but Ed couldn't quite place how.

"We'll leave Scar up to you!" Raven told Ed and Al, her back facing them as she focused on Gluttony. The boys nodded. Azure quickly drew a transmutation circle on the ground, creating a wall to separate the two battles.

"Scar!" Ed shouted, drawing the Ishvalan's attention away from the battle with Gluttony and towards the Elric brothers. A concrete wall now blocked their view of the homunculus and Cloaked Alchemists.

Ed's fist made contact with Scar's jaw, but Scar grabbed his wrist. Before alchemy could be used, though, Scar felt something make contact with him from behind as he was kicked back by Al.

For a short while, all three refrained from using alchemy and showed off their hand-to-hand combat skills.

Once the three boys stood a foot away from each other, panting, Scar raised his right arm – unleashing his destruction alchemy.

Ed made a wall from the ground to shield him and Al.

An explosive sound was heard and the brothers instinctively crouched behind the wall again to protect themselves from flying debris.

The brothers noticed the wall that was previously separating the two battles had been destroyed. They spared a glance over at the Cloaked Alchemists. It seemed they had put a protective wall around their comrade, Ash.

Gluttony, who had just been compressed in a metal cage, was now freed due to Scar's explosion. Azure and Raven silently cursed before they began their fight with Gluttony once again.

Finally, Ed and Al turned their heads to face Scar again, putting their hands together and readying their alchemy.

"Multiple crimes: including the murder of the Rockbells!" Ed said through gritted teeth.

"You'll pay for those crimes!" Al exclaimed as the two engaged in a more intensified battle with Scar.

For some reason, upon hearing their words, Raven hesitated.

"Raven!" Ava shouted. If it wasn't for her speed, Raven wouldn't have managed to dodge Gluttony's tongue before it was sliced off by Ava's weapon.

But being a homunculus, that didn't last long before a red crackling light appeared.

The way Ash stood off to the side, he seemed to be injured, and both Azure and Raven's movements seemed to slow as if they were... tired?

A sewer lid that was close by suddenly flew up. A man who didn't look like he was an Amestrian jumped out, and in swift movements landed on top of Gluttony. He jumped back within seconds, just in time to watch Gluttony explode. Probably placing a bomb on him in the process.

"Ling!" Ed shouted.

"In peak condition you're probably three times faster than him." Azure whispered to Raven.

As the red crackling appeared Ling shouted, "Get me a sturdy wire!"

"R-Right!" Ed responded, using parts of the train tracks to do so.

Ling, with the help of Raven used the wire to tightly tie up Gluttony. Raven's eyes never once left the homunculus in front of her.

"Your own meat that expands from within the wire will end up binding you tighter!" Ling explained to Gluttony as he finished tying him up.

A car arrived on scene and sped up to them as the driver shot Scar in the leg with her gun. Lieutenant Hawkeye, who was in disguise, loaded Ling and a captured Gluttony in the car. In the meantime, Azure kept pushing and nudging Raven to walk back to Ash. Not allowing the girl to turn her head to face Ed or Al.

"We need to go." Ash told his two teammates as Ed attacked Scar once again, this time with an advantage.

The sudden sound of a little girl's battle cry was heard as Al was knocked down.

"H-Hey!" Ed cried, clearly confused as he faced his new opponent.

"Eastern alchemy?" Ash said to no one in particular.

"Maybe she and that other guy – Ling – are from Xing." Azure concluded.

A thick haze soon appeared, probably created by that girl from Xing. It covered everything in sight, making it hard to see. The sound of Military Police arriving signaled the Cloaked Alchemists that it was time to leave.

"Quick," Ash said in a voice of authority through his haste. "Let's go." Azure put his arm around her shoulder so she could support his weight.

The aftermath of the chaos that has just happened was soon to come. Scar... Gluttony... The Cloaked Alchemists... That girl from Xing... Ed would have to explain it all to Mustang, which he wasn't particularly looking forward to... but right now, he didn't seem to care.

The group of Cloaked Alchemists that had come to save them were about to leave. One in particular had caught his eye, but he wasn't too sure about anything yet.

Just as the group ran past him, he caught a glimpse thanks to the sunlight that shone from above. It was brief, but it was all that he needed for his brain to start running at a severely fast pace.

"M-Myra?" he said with a shaky breath.

The girl who recognized that name, the one who had caught Ed's eye, stopped in her tracks. Ed followed her just outside the haze. She never stopped to think about it before, but she _recognized_ that voice.

Looking up a bit allowed the light to catch her face, revealing her gold eyes. Ed couldn't see this, however, as he stared at her back, the girl's teammates disappearing from his line of sight. He was only focused on her identity.

The girl seemed frozen to her spot. Her red cloak blew slightly in the wind as she slowly turned around to face the young Elric with eyes full of mixed emotions, thinking of who she thought the voice belonged to. Ed was slightly shaking as a bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face and his breath caught in his throat.

Gold eyes met gold eyes. Ed's eyes widened and his skin grew to be a paler colour, while the girl's— Myra's eyes widened until someone yelled, "Raven! Let's go!"

Upon hearing the voice of her comrade, Myra quickly composed herself and gave a small, but apologetic smile before saying, "We'll meet again soon, Ed."

Before Myra could turn to leave, Al emerged from the haze to be by his brother's side, "Broth— ….Sister?!" His voice was shaky and squeaked in surprised as he stared at the girl a few metres in front of them.

"A-Al? Is that you?" she asked, surprised.

"Raven!" The voice called for her again.

Ed tried to quickly run after her despite his shaking, but in what seemed like the blink of an eye Myra jumped onto high ground and over the edge. Ed ran to the edge to find no one there. She had disappeared.

Different emotions could be seen in his eyes; anger, sadness, guilt, confusion, but most of all... relief.

"You're back." he whispered almost inaudibly, his throat tightening.

Running through the dark alleys, now reunited with her comrades, Myra wiped the few tears that managed to escape her eyes. That small sorry smile never leaving her face.


	7. The Past Hurts

_"My! Catch me!" A 4-year old Alphonse shouted as he jumped from the top of a small snow bank._

 _The 8-year old girl outstretched her arms to catch her brother, and the two fell in the snow laughing._

 _Snow didn't come to Resembool often, but whenever it did the kids enjoyed it to the fullest._

 _The laughing ceased, however, when a snowball made contact with Myra's face and a 5-year old Edward burst out laughing._

 _A mischievous grin broke across the girl's face as she got up and made a bigger snowball with alchemy. Ed had stopped laughing and was now running around their yard. When he decided to use Al as a shield, Al was forced to join in on the running and laughing._

 _"Hey, that was cheating!" Ed accused her, but his laughing did not cease._

 _Myra threw the snowball, but at the last second the boys ducked behind a snow bank. Then, the small snowbank collapsed, covering the boys with snow. Myra stood next to it, showing that she had caused it to fall down on purpose._

 _The two boys teamed up to tackle their sister into the snow. The three just continued to laugh as they continued their childish fun._

 _Then, Myra and Al just suddenly stopped laughing. Ed, now confused, opened his eyes. He looked to where his brother should be, but he wasn't there. He then realized that he was lying on the ground and his sister was missing too._

 _"My? Al?" he called, now in his 10-year old body. The snow had disappeared and fire blazed everywhere his eyes could see. His house burned in front of him. The flames' shadow dancing for as far as the eye could see._

 _When he turned, he saw his sister, now in her 13-year old body. She was smiling brightly, until two dark figures snuck up behind her._

 _"Myra, behind you!" Ed yelled, but it was as if she couldn't hear him. Her face showed a frightened expression as she struggled and fought against the two figures. Ed tried to run and reach for his sister, but he couldn't move. It was like his feet were frozen to that one spot. The fire in the background blazed even more as the two figures dragged the screaming girl into the fire, ignoring Ed's panicked protests._

 _Suddenly being able to move again, Ed ran towards Myra. He ran, but when he passed the fire, a black nothingness that swept around him was all he could see. "My?! Myra!" he yelled, but got no reply._

 _Then appearing right before him was the Myra that he hadn't seen in five years, the Myra he had seen earlier that day. "Ed," she said. "Ed!" she seemed desperate. The same two dark figures appeared and grabbed the girl just as Ed frantically reached for her, not wanting to lose the sight of her again. "Ed!"_

 _"MYRA!"_

"Brother! Brother, wake up!"

Ed snapped his eyes open and gasped, panting.

"Brother, are you alright? You were having a nightmare." Concern filled Al's voice.

Ed was sitting against the wall in the hallway of the abandoned house they were using for their hideout.

He realized his arm was outstretched, supposedly reaching for his sister in his dream. He blinked, pulling it back and wiping his sweaty forehead.

The only light coming from a simple candle light did little to ease Ed's mind, creating shadows that reminded him of the two figures in his nightmare.

"Must've been some dream." A voice said from the side. "With all your yelling you nearly woke up Lan Fan," Ling said, referring to his injured bodyguard who was currently resting. "Was it about your sister?" his voiced softened.

Ed and Al both stared at him blankly. "What?" he said defensively. "You were yelling 'Myra' in your sleep and I think you two mentioned your deceased older sister's name to be Myra."

"Oh right, I almost forgot telling you about her." Ed mumbled looking down.

"What happened in your dream?" Al asked.

"Well, it started off with the three of us playing in the snow of Resembool when we were kids. But then everything changed. Two dark figures took her... and I couldn't stop them!"

"Is everyone alright?" Mustang asked as he and Hawkeye suddenly ran in.

"Yeah, everything's fine. Brother just had a nightmare."

"Colonel, did you know about this?" Ed asked through gritted teeth, still looking at the floor. A shadow covered his eyes.

"Know about what?" The Colonel asked.

"Our sister," Ed said simply, slowly looking up. "Did you know that she was still alive?" The same realization suddenly hit Al.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Fullmetal."

"The Cloaked Alchemists!" Al shouted. "The one who's named 'Raven'. Is she really our sister who supposedly died four years ago?!"

"I don't know wh—"

Mustang was cut off by Ed getting up and holding the Colonel by the collar in only a second flat. "Myra Elric! Our older sister!" he yelled as tears threatened to form in his eyes. "Four years ago you came to Resembool and told us that she died in some explosion, a year after she was taken from us. But yesterday... yesterday Al and I saw her among the Cloaked Alchemists!"

Before Hawkeye could do anything, Mustang reached up and gently gripped the Fullmetal's wrist, allowing him to release his collar. The Colonel's head faced the ground so his eyes could not be read, "Listen you two. It's true... Your sister's alive."

Al gasped, "How—"

"How come we weren't told of this?!" Ed fumed.

"Edward, calm down." Riza warned and Ed seemed to obey, gritting his teeth.

"Tell us everything!" Al demanded.

Mustang looked at both boys before speaking. "Four years ago when I came to visit you in Resembool, I truly believed she was dead. I found out only a year later. The same time Hughes found out."

"General Hughes?" Al asked in disbelief.

"Your sister was kidnapped for projects relating to the homunculi. Whether the homunculi were directly involved, no one knows yet." A realization suddenly struck the Colonel. "All information about the matter only Bradley knows." He said his thoughts out loud, "But if Bradley really is a homunculus..."

"What has he been doing to our sister?!" Ed and Al demanded to know.

"My knowledge on the matter is limited, so I don't know." he took a look at their angry faces and added, "She's doing alright, you know." Ed's eyes seemed to soften a bit. "I see her every now and again. I don't know if she suspects the Fuhrer of being a homunculus, but she is alive and well."

"You mentioned General Hughes. How is he tied up in all this?" Ed asked in a quieter voice than before.

"He took her in for a couple years after the incident. He and his wife, Gracia, looked after her for a while."

"Why? Why didn't she come to see us? Why didn't she let us know that she was alive?" A pained look could be seen in Ed's eyes as they started brimming with tears, but he refused to let them fall.

"Like I said, my knowledge on Myra Elric is limited. But my guess would be; it was to protect you two."

Hearing this caused both Elric brothers to look up at the Colonel. "What do you mean?" They asked in unison.

"Knowing her, it'd be the only reason she'd do something like that. Some things are best if you heard from her yourself. I know that doesn't give you everything you want to know, but I'm sure she'll provide a proper explanation."

"Will we get to see her soon?" Hope filled Al's voice.

"My did say she'll see us soon. And she's always stuck with her word." It was meant to reassure Al, but Ed was trying to reassure himself too.


	8. After All These Years

Ed walked along the evening streets of Central. A sunset painted the sky as he headed back to the hotel he and Al were staying at. He had just visited Lieutenant Hawkeye at her apartment after returning the gun she lent him.

After the 'talk' he had with Colonel Mustang, Gluttony had lashed out due to the fact that Mustang killed Lust, causing Ed, Ling and Envy to be swallowed. Once they escaped they, among with Al, got to meet 'Father', creator of the homunculi. Their suspicions of King Bradley being a homunculus were confirmed after he himself told Ed, Al and Roy.

~Flashback to inside Gluttony's stomach~

 _"Humans are so easy to manipulate!" Envy laughed as if every cruel thing he's_ _ever_ _done was just a joke._

 _Ed's anger rose with every word he said and started advancing towards Envy. His hands were balled into fists and his teeth clenched. "The one who destroyed our hometown... The one who drove away the Ishvalans... The one who created Scar, a vengeful murderer... The root cause of what killed Winry's parents..."_

 _"That's not all," Envy said before Ed could punch him, continuing with a smile that made him look pure evil. Ed stopped in his tracks, reluctantly waiting to hear what he had to say. He didn't want to listen to Envy talk anymore, but he had a gut feeling that he needed to know whatever was about to be said._

 _"It was us!" Envy couldn't hold back his laughter. "It was the homunculi that kidnapped your sister five years ago!"_

 _"You bastard!"_

~Flashback to meeting with King Bradley after meeting homunculi Father~

 _"_ _–Whatever you guys are planning, I'll put an end to it." Ed said, determination burned in his eyes as he tried to resign from being a state alchemist. "I'll tell the other state alchemists, and then—"_

 _"What was her name again?" The Fuhrer cut him off. "Oh, that's right, Winry Rockbell." He started stating basic information about their childhood friend as anger rose in Ed and as Al looked uneasy._

 _"Lay a finger on her and see what happens! People around her, too!" Ed yelled, now out of his seat._

 _"And what about that other girl?" Bradley continued as if Ed hadn't said a thing. "_ Myra _Elric I believe is her name? She was—"_

 _"Stay away from our sister!" Ed shouted his anger now bubbling._

 _"You homunculi have had her long enough! Leave her out of this!" Al raised his voice._

 _And with that, Ed was forced to stay a state alchemist for the lives of Myra and Winry._

~End of flashbacks~

These flashbacks went through Ed's mind as he walked the evening streets of Central. A cool breeze gently moved his bangs back and forth. The area was surprisingly calm and peaceful, easily allowing Ed's mind to wander.

He was so absorbed in his own thoughts that Ed didn't notice he had decided to cross the street when there was a car headed in his direction.

He hadn't realized until someone yelled, "Watch out!" Ed didn't have a chance to react before he felt someone push him off to the side of the road. He and the one who saved him landed in an alleyway.

The sound of screeching reached his ears as he heard the car drive off after a brief pause.

It all happened within a span of two seconds.

Ed landed on his hands and knees, the one who saved him sat a foot away from him rubbing her head.

Ed looked at the girl and his eyes widened dramatically, wavering.

The girl looked up at him. She had gold hair put up in a high ponytail and bangs that framed her face. She had gold eyes, and despite the colour of her hair and eyes, she had her mother's features. She was wearing a simple outfit that was a red t-shirt with the black Flamel symbol on it, paired with black pants and knee high black combat boots. A red cloak hung on her shoulders with the hood down. Her outfit fit her nicely and many would say that she's pretty.

"Are you okay?" The girl asked, concern in her voice. Ed gripped her wrist with his left hand, as if the person would disappear if he let go. "You better not run off again!"

The yellow light from the setting sun reflected off of Ed's eyes, bringing out the colour in his already golden orbs, and showed how they quickly turned glassy.

Her matching gold eyes softened. "I'm not going to." she said softly after seeing the pain in his eyes. "Actually, I've been trying to find you and Al. I _did_ promise to see you guys soon."

"Wh-What happened? I want to know everything!" Ed couldn't stop the tears filling his eyes.

"I'll tell you everything that you and Al want to know... I owe you that much." she said, guilt leaking into her voice. Myra placed a gentle hand on top of Ed's head as he still gripped her other wrist.

His hand around her wrist tightened, but Myra didn't flinch. "We thought you were dead!" Ed couldn't hold back his tears anymore. "Al and I! We lost mom and then we lost you! Why?! Why didn't you come back to us?! We needed you! Idiot! Where have you been all this time?" he sobbed. Hearing her brother's feelings, now Myra was on the verge of tears as an immense amount of guilt washed over.

"I'm sorry..." she said quietly, struggling to fight back tears of her own. Her throat tightened so much that it ached and she slowly released her tears. "You don't know how many times I wanted to see you two. There's not one day that passed where I didn't think of my little brothers. I wanted to see you guys again. To see you smile and laugh. To see how much you've both grown... I wanted to, but I couldn't. I was trying to protect you, and... I'm sorry! I'm sorry I wasn't there when you needed me! I'm sorry... And I know you can't forgive me, but—"

Myra was cut off by Ed wrapping his arms around her waist and hugging her tightly, burying his head in her shoulder. "You have to tell us everything." he said, his tears still intact. "And then I'll forgive you." He tightened his grip, if that was even possible.

Myra hugged him back just as tightly. "Thank you... But you haven't grown much, Ed." she said teasing him, trying to lighten the mood a bit. She gave a small smile through the tears.

"Shut up, stupid sister. I'm not a—" he stops to choke on a sob, "– pint-sized runt. I've grown, you know." Despite his words, they weren't harsh at all. They were said with a teary eyed smile of his own.

"I never called you a 'pint-sized runt'." That smile still lingering on her face, happy to have her little brother in her arms again.

"Ed, so you're the Fullmetal Alchemist, huh? Who knew that the infamous Fullmetal would be my very own little brother." she smirked.

Too bad she doesn't know how he got his infamous name in the first place.

* * *

( **A/N:** Please guys, review to let me know your thoughts on the story! I always appreciate some feedback!)


	9. Time Spent Away

lilaclily00- You'll find out... eventually :)

* * *

Three siblings sat in a simple hotel room. There were two couches that sat opposite each other with a coffee table placed in between. Ed and Al sat on one couch while Myra sat opposite from them on the other couch.

When Ed had brought Myra to the hotel, Al was completely shocked. He felt like he was dreaming and that everything moved in slow motion. He was put into a similar state Ed was put in. But Al was calmer than Ed was... and no matter how much he wanted to, Al couldn't cry.

She hugged him as much as she could and even patted his head like she used to, which made Al so happy it could've brought him to tears. "Why are you wearing a suit of armour?" Myra had asked the unavoidable question. "Remember, you tell your story first, then we tell ours." Ed reminded her.

Now they sat as Myra was about to speak. "How much do you know already?" she asked, taking a shaky breath.

"Well, Colonel Mustang mentioned you were kidnapped by the homunculi and that you spent time with General Hughes." Al said.

"We also know that you're known as Raven among the Cloaked Alchemists." Ed added.

"I _was_ known as Raven among them." Myra corrected causing confused expressions to grow on the boys' faces. "I'm pretty sure you two have figured out that Bradley is a homunculus by now, but we found out not too long ago ourselves and disbanded our group, no longer working under Bradley."

"Actually, we didn't find out that long ago either." Ed commented.

"I'm surprised he didn't say much when we decided to disband the group... Well, I guess I should start at the beginning," Myra scratched her head in thought. She took a deep breath. "I was taken by Lust five years ago for being a skilled young alchemist at the time. She stabbed me so I wouldn't get away and knocked me out, that's how she was able to kidnap me. I was brought to a place underground that very much resembled an underground base of the sorts. I was held captive with many others. Being down there was no fun, acting as their stupid experiments, we _were_ at times tortured. But they would train us so our skills wouldn't weaken."

Before Ed or Al could say anything in anger upon hearing the fact that the homunculi tortured their sister, she continued.

"We spent months coming up with a perfect plan that would allow us to escape. But by that time... there were only four of us left." she trailed off with a solemn look and Ed and Al kept quiet, sympathetic looks taking over their features.

"I guess our plan wasn't so perfect because... when we _did_ escape, a year after being captured," Myra paused. "The homunculi found us in that abandoned factory and chaos erupted. The other two members of the Cloaked Alchemists got separated from me and the other person being held hostage. Drew. His name was Drew Mendez. I only knew him for a year, but from the time that I've known him he became one of my closest friends. He told me about the little sister he had back in Dublith and in turn I told him about you two." Myra smiled slightly at the memory before continuing. "Then..."

Ed and Al listened to her every word.

"Drew died trying to protect me from Lust that day. I was devastated. We promised that we'd both make it out alive so we can get back to our younger siblings. After that..."

Myra felt a hand on top of hers, which stopped her shaking. She hadn't even noticed that she was shaking. She looked up, barely noticing that at some point she had taken her eyes off her little brothers' as she got lost in old memories.

"You don't have to keep going if you don't want to." Al said softly. He had made his way to the other couch to sit beside his sister.

Myra shook her head. "No, I want to finish." she said, taking another breath before continuing. "After that I was 'forced to go through hell'..." she paused again. "I think I blacked out because the next thing I knew, I woke up in a secluded area with Oscar and Ava at my side. Oscar and Ava are Ash and Azure's real names: the other members of the Cloaked Alchemists." she explained. "They managed to get me out of there alive."

"We went our separate ways for about three years. The first year I had spent in Rush Valley, recovering from the incident. The other two years I spent in Central. I was offered to take the state alchemist test, but I refused. I didn't have a place to stay and General Hughes took me in. So my first year in Central was spent with them. Even with Elicia there, he still treated me like his own daughter the entire time. About a year ago, Bradley brought the three of us back together and we formed our group."

"This is just a wild guess, but I'm guessing wearing cloaks and having alias's, were to prevent you two from finding out that I was alive. Bradley had threatened me saying that if I didn't do what he said, then you two would be put in danger, and you might even die. That's the last thing I would ever want. That was the reason I stayed in Central for so long, why I joined the Cloaked Alchemists and didn't come back home to Resembool. We were all threatened by Bradley in different ways. It was then that I suspected him of being a homunculus, but at the time I never had any proof of it..." Myra concluded looking up to meet her brothers' eyes.

Ed gritted his teeth and slammed a fist on the table. "I can't believe they would do that!"

"The homunculi... I can't believe it either." Al looked down. "Wait! What did they even want with you in the first place?" Al asked.

"I don't know." Myra said, shaking her head. "None of us do."

Everyone stayed quiet as the boys tried to process Myra's story.

"We forgive you." Ed said softly after a moment of silence. Myra looked up at him. "I said if you told us everything we'd forgive you."

Al then pulled her into a hug, which Myra returned instantly. "Why?" he whispered, his voice shaking. "Why did _you_ have to go through all that?"

"Al..." Ed shared his brother's sympathetic feelings as he got up to sit on the other side of his sister.

"You were tortured by the homunculi for a year. You watched your friend die. You were threatened by Bradley, a homunculus. And you couldn't come home to me and brother, and Winry and Granny. Why couldn't it be me instead so you and brother wouldn't have to suffer so much?"

Myra's head immediately jerked up, as well as Ed's, but Myra spoke before he could. "Al, don't say that!" It hurt her to just think of it being either one of her brother's instead of her being put through that pain. "Don't ever say that! I would go through all of that again if it meant keeping you boys safe!" Determination shone in her golden orbs.

"Sister..." Al whispered. There was a short, but comfortable silence between the three.

"You're still stubborn, My." Ed said weakly.

She smiled weakly at him, but it soon disappeared. "Now its your turn. Tell me your stories."

There was another silence shared between them, but this one awkward. No one spoke, so Myra decided to speak up.

"Your soul's attached to that suit of armour, isn't it, Al?" Al was speechless.

"And Ed, your right arm's automail. As well as your left leg." he looked at her, astonished. "I could tell when you hugged me earlier."

"What happened?" she asked softly. She was hesitant, fearing for the worst.

And they told her. They told Myra everything. The human transmutation and everything up until this point. And it left Myra speechless.

"You're both so strong." she said after taking a moment to gather her words. "I can't believe you both went through so much at such young ages... But even through all the pain, I'm proud that you're both still fighting."

"But you—"

"Forget me," she said. Their story causing her to fight back tears. "You two have suffered more. I should've been there. I could've—"

"It's not your fault. You were protecting us this whole time and we didn't even know it." Ed said.

Suddenly, Myra stood up and faced them putting her hands on her hips, her mood completely changing. "I can't believe you two tried to bring Mom back! I mean, I did feel like doing the same thing, but, equivalent exchange! So this is what I was kept in the dark for so long about when we were kids? What did you think could be of value to a human soul?!" Tears sprung to her eyes as she scolded them.

Both boys put their heads down in guilt. "We know now that we can't bring back the dead... no matter what." Ed said.

Myra sighed. "So you guys saw it? You saw Truth?" Their heads snapped up. Al suddenly began to recall memories of Raven using alchemy... without a transmutation circle.

Myra brushed her hair behind her ears.

Ed's eyes widened and Al gasped. She had hearing aids.

"I told you guys I went through hell after they killed Drew." she said. "The circle was drawn for me and they grabbed me and held me against my will... They _forced_ me to transmute him back to life."

"No..." Ed whispered. "Not you too." It seemed to be too much for him to take, and the colour of his skin paled.

"They... They forced you to..." Al was having a hard time trying to process the information.

"In exchange for performing human transmutation... I lost my hearing." Myra said. "Performing human transmutation puts you through hell. But after it happened I thought, 'at least it wasn't Ed or Al'." she said a bit more quietly.

This caused tears to fall onto Ed's lap. Al had his head in his hands. The next thing they knew, an arm wrapped around each of their necks. Myra was hugging them both. The two boys each holding on to her as they apologized repeatedly and Ed cried.

"We're sorry!"

Myra continued to fight back her own tears. "It's not your fault." she said as she tightened her grip around them.

"We're sorry." They continued to say. All three completely heartbroken.

"I'll help you get your bodies back... and then I'll forgive you."

"It's not just us anymore," Ed sobbed.

"We'll get your hearing back too." Al finished.

"You two..." she whispered, a small smile on her face as a single tear rolled down her cheek.

 **(A/N: So I know at this point in fmab it's 1916 and hearing aids weren't invented until the 1920's, but for the sake of the story let's just pretend that they were invented a lot sooner.**

 **Don't forget to leave a review!)**


	10. Nightmares and Daydreams

The clouds were dark and loomed over Central for as far as the eye could see. A bright light would flash in the sky, quickly followed by a loud roar. Each roar mixed with the sound of heavy rain pellets hitting the glass window to a room borrowed by two of the youngest Elric siblings.

Mumbling could be heard from a boy with golden hair as he slept. He began tossing and turning which caught the attention of his younger brother, who did not sleep.

"Brother?" he whispered. A flash of lightning and thunderclap erupted and the boy's mumbles became audible.

"No... Don't... Please, don't leave us again..." Ed said before he continued to mumble gibberish as Al walked over to him.

"Brother." he tried again, this time not in a whisper.

"My... Myra... don't leave us. Please. Not after Mom—"

"Brother!"

This time Al was successful, as Ed's eyes shot open and he sat up as quick as the lightning flashed. Ed was panting as beads of sweat rolled down his face.

"Brother..."

The two looked up as the door swung open.

"Are you two alright?" Their sister asked. She wore a loose t-shirt and shorts. Her mid-back length hair was left open, and for a mere second under the dim lighting, the two boys mistook her for their mother. "My room is right next door. I can hear you from there." Myra said, snapping them out of their trance.

"We're okay. Brother just had a bad dream." Al replied for them. "Sorry, did we wake you?"

Myra shook her head, "No, I was already awake." She walked over to her two younger siblings and sat at the foot of Ed's bed, Al already at his side. "Wanna tell me what your dream was about?" She asked gently.

Ed, who was avoiding eye contact with his sister, finally looked up to face her. He was debating on talking to her about it or not, but the loving care and concern in her eyes brought so many memories flooding back that he gave in.

"I had a dream that you left again." he said simply, avoiding eye contact once again. "I had a dream that you disappeared from our lives... again." His bangs covered his eyes.

"Ed..."

"And after we just got you back!" he snapped his head up to look at her, his eyes now glassy. "You're not gonna leave us again, are you?" Ed's voice broke off.

"Brother, Sister wouldn't do that!" Al defended.

Myra put a comforting hand on top of Ed's. "I don't blame you for thinking that." she said. "But Al's right. I just found you guys, after _so_ long! There's no way in hell I'm ever going to leave you guys again." She glanced at the two of them.

She put a hand on top of each of their hands as if to ruffle their hair a little. "I could never do that. I love you both too much."

The thunderstorm that was echoing through the halls of the hotel minutes ago, seemed more serene as the flashes of lightning and roaring thunder ceased.

"Hey, My?" Ed asked, turning his gaze from the window to look up at the girl. "How are you so fast?"

"What do you mean, Ed?" She asked.

"In battle. I thought _I_ had speed, but wow, you can be as fast as lightning!"

"Yeah!" Al nodded in agreement, also waiting for her reply.

Myra gave a wry smile, "When I was training with the homunculi, they made us each work on perfecting one type of skill. For Oscar, his power, for Ava her strength, for Drew his stealth and for me, speed. I guess by doing so it really would make us unique by the time we became human weapons." A distant look could be seen in Myra's eyes as she gazed off to the side.

A comfortable silence fell between them.

"I remember what it'd be like after Mom died." Ed spoke, breaking the silence. "At first we'd always find ourselves sleeping in My's room. Both of us curled up on each side of her, tears on our faces, either from past memories or a dream we had about Mom."

"I remember that." Myra recalled the memories.

"Sister would just hold us close and sing to comfort us, wiping away our tears as we fell asleep to the sound of her voice. You've always sounded like an angel when you sing..." Al said, which Ed nodded to in agreement. "I still remember the song you sang for us on that one night where we both dreamt about Mom."

Myra seemed to be in thought for a moment before she quickly snapped her fingers. "Oh right! _That_ song."

Ed twiddled his thumbs. "Could you, uh, maybe... sing it to us again?" he asked nervously. Obviously thinking that Myra might think that they're too old to be sung songs at night.

Myra chuckled a little at that.

"Yes, please!" Al begged. "It's been a while since we got to hear you sing."

"Alright then." Myra said with a kind smile.

(Human by Christina Perri)

 _I can hold my breath_

 _I can bite my tongue_

 _I can stay awake for days_

 _If that's what you want_

 _Be your number one_

The smiles, the laughs from so long ago. Shared between the three siblings playing outside on a warm sunny day as their mother smiled at their antics.

 _I can fake a smile_

 _I can force a laugh_

 _I can dance and play the part_

 _If that's what you ask_

 _Give you all I am_

Back before the pain started. Back before all the tragedies began. When tears weren't shed over anything more than a scraped knee. When limbs were still intact and pain didn't follow wherever they went.

 _I can do it_

 _I can do it_

 _I can do it_

But Trisha, their mother, grew ill and passed away. The eldest sibling was kidnapped and ripped away from her younger brothers' lives. Brothers who tried to bring their mother back. Brothers who thought that their sister had died as well. Brothers who paid a price too high for only suffering in return.

 _But I'm only human_

They committed the taboo and set out on a journey. To help each other and restore themselves to the way they were before.

 _And I bleed when I fall down_

 _I'm only human_

 _And I crash and I break down_

One lost his arm and leg. The other lost his entire body. Only his soul bound to a suit of armour remains.

 _Your words in my head, knives in my heart_

 _You build me up and then I fall apart_

 _Cause I'm only human_

On an endless journey to find a Philosopher's Stone... only to find the truth of the powerful stone. Taking their hope and crushing it into pieces.

 _I can turn it on_

 _Be a good machine_

 _I can hold the weight of worlds_

 _If that's what you need_

 _Be your everything_

The deaths that followed, Nina Tucker, Maes Hughes and others met along the way.

 _I can do it_

 _I can do it_

 _I'll get through it_

But through it all, through all the pain and suffering, Edward and Alphonse had each other. That's all they really needed to get by, to keep living on in this world.

 _But I'm only human_

 _And I bleed when I fall down_

 _I'm only human_

 _And I crash and I break down_

 _Your words in my head, knives in my heart_

 _You build me up and then I fall apart_

 _Cause I'm only human_

The truth behind the Ishvalan war came out. As well as the culprit behind the deaths of Winry's parents.

 _I'm only human_

 _I'm only human_

 _Just a little human_

The homunculi. Father. Such dangerous enemies that cause so much pain for the Elrics and many others, it's almost unbearable.

 _I can take so much_

 _Till I've had enough_

But they never gave up. They fought, and they're still fighting. They'll continue to fight and struggle until their goal is accomplished. And finally... Myra Elric, their sister, finally found her way back to them. Now the brothers don't have to fight alone, because she won't let them. She'll fight alongside them.

 _Cause I'm only human_

And she's not leaving their sides again, _ever_.

 _And I bleed when I fall down_

 _I'm only human_

 _And I crash and I break down_

 _Your words in my head, knives in my heart_

 _You build me up and then I fall apart_

 _Cause I'm only human_

But their journey is far from over. And there's more that awaits them.

Myra ended the song on a soft note. Boy, it's been a while since she's sung for anyone. She didn't need to turn her head to know that Ed was sound asleep on her shoulder, and she smiled at him.

"Al, why—"

"This body doesn't let me sleep." he quickly explained. Her smile quickly faded as Al's pain quickly stung Myra's heart. She felt sympathetic towards him and wished that it was her in his place so he could be sound asleep too. But Myra knew that wishing would only make things worse. She now felt a new determination to help get Al's body back as well as Ed's limbs. She could only imagine the suffering Al had to go through the past few years, and she couldn't bear the thought.

Myra gently put Ed's head back on his pillow, pulling the blanket over top of him and giving him a quick kiss on his forehead. She gave his sleeping form a sweet smile, eyes becoming droopy.

Myra tried to suppress a yawn. "Want me to stay up with you?" she asked turning to face Al.

"No, I'll be fine. You need your rest, Sister. Don't worry about me. I've been doing this for a few years now." Al tried to assure her.

"But, Al—"

"Sister, I'll be _fine_." he insisted, knowing just how stubborn she could be.

With a sigh, Myra gave in. "Alright. But if you need anything I'm right next door." She gave him a hug and kiss on his helmet before leaving the room to return to her sleep.

Al gave a soft chuckle, "Five years and it's like you haven't been gone all that time." Anyone could picture the young 14-year old giving a soft smile in the direction his 18-year old sister had just been. Happy to have her back after so long.

"Your voice still sounds like an angel..."

* * *

 **A/N:** This was sort of a filler chapter, but I still hope it was good


	11. The Search

"A girl with a weird cat?" Myra gave a skeptical look as she looked at the picture Ed had drawn of the so-called 'cat'.

"Actually it looks more like this." Al said, showing her a more realistic drawing of the 'cat'.

"Hmm... Didn't those two show up back when we were fighting Gluttony? They helped Scar escape."

"True, but we need the girl to teach us about alkahestry, Eastern Alchemy, the alchemy they use in Xing. It can give us a way to defeat the homunculi." Al explained.

"I see." she said in thought, staring at the picture in front of her.

"Well, let's go find the little brat." Ed said, walking by the two as he grabbed his drawing.

They spent the next few hours going around town and asking people if they had seen a little girl with the cat.

"Have you by any chance seen this cat around, Miss?" Myra asked a woman who seemed to be only a few years older than her, holding up a drawing of the cat Al had drawn for her.

After taking a closer look of the drawing the woman replied, "No, I'm sorry." she shook her head before going about her business.

Myra heard a sigh from behind her and she turned to see Edward standing with his back hunched over in exasperation. Al was standing a few metres away talking to someone else, his own drawing of the cat in hand. She was about to say something to Ed, but then he suddenly sprung back up from his hunched position. A new set of determination in his eyes. Myra giggled.

"What's so funny?" he asked, turning to face her.

"Oh, nothing." she said, not being able to hide the smile on her face.

Ed soon turned his attention to an elderly woman who was walking by, holding up his poorly drawn picture for her.

Myra spotted another person to ask as well, and headed over to them.

"So you're looking for that cat?" a voice asked from behind her.

Myra spun around and came face to face with a male who seemed about her age. He had light brown hair and brown eyes that gazed upon her as he pointed to the picture in her hands.

"Yeah, do you know anything about it or the little girl who's travelling with it?" Myra asked hopefully.

"Perhaps," he talked smoothly. "Maybe we could talk about it while I take a very pretty young lady, such as yourself, out to dinner tonight?"

Myra opened her mouth to politely reject the boy, but someone else beat her too it.

"She's not interested." Ed said bluntly, now standing in between Myra and the boy, coming from seemingly out of nowhere. "Don't you have something better to do than hitting on random girls?" he took a step closer to the boy, eyes narrowed.

"Sorry, shorty, but I was talking to her." The boy tried to wave Ed off.

"' _SHORTY_ '?!" Ed tried to launch himself at the boy, but Myra held him back, not wanting to create any more of a scene to the people who seemed to stare as they walked by.

"Uh, right. Well, sorry, I didn't realize you had such a... protective younger brother." The boy said dismissively. And with that, he left.

"Stupid kid thinks he can hit on other people's sister like that..." Ed began his incoherent mumbling as Myra smiled kindly at him. "I'm not that short!"

"I could've handled that one myself, you know."

"Like I was going to let you." Ed stubbornly said, crossing his arms pouting and facing the other direction.

The smile remained on her face as she patted his head, "Well thank you anyway, Ed."

Al soon joined them, also coming up with no such luck in finding who they were looking for. Eventually, they decided to split up to cover more ground.

"I'll take the east side of town, you two can take the west." Myra said.

"Okay." Al agreed.

"Let's meet back at the hotel afterwards." Ed said to which Myra nodded.

Several times they thought they might've found them but alas, they came up empty-handed.

"Man, this sucks." Myra complained as she slumped onto her hotel bed.

"We can't give up yet." Al said determined.

"Yeah, you're right." Ed agreed. "We should go to the library to research anything we can on alkahestry."

"Shouldn't we try searching again tomorrow?" Myra asked.

"We talked to Colonel Mustang already. He said he's going to ask around for us."

"Well, then I guess it is better we leave it to the Colonel." Myra said, knowing personally never to doubt Mustang.

"Sister?" Al suddenly asked.

"Yeah, Al?" she looked up at him.

"After the incident at the fifth laboratory, didn't you and the other Cloaked Alchemists go after Barry the Chopper?"

"Yeah...?" she responded, wondering where he was going with this.

A lightbulb went off in Ed's head. "Oh right! You guys were pretty famous for your skills and Barry's... Barry. So, did he escape from you guys or something cause Lieutenant Hawkeye caught him a while back."

"Ohh, that's what you mean. Well, while we were chasing Barry something more important came up and we lost track of him... which is kind of embarrassing for us." Myra rubbed the back of her neck nervously.

Ed began to laugh. "Ed c'mon don't laugh!" Ed's laughter became contagious and Al couldn't help but start giggling too. "Awe Al, not you too!" Myra pouted, which only made the two boys laugh harder.

Ed stared intently at the open book he had in his hand. Eventually he gave up and shut the book closed. "It's no good. Why doesn't this place have any good books on Eastern alchemy?" he said to himself, carrying a bunch of books under his arms to a shelf.

"Maybe I'll visit Xing and study there instead..."

"But there's no way you'll be able to cross the desert with automail." Myra said walking up to him, a pile of books of her own in her hands.

Ed sighed, "Yeah, you're right."

A shadow suddenly loomed over the two. Ed dropped his books and fell on the floor, startled. Myra, also startled, dropped her books as well, but remained standing.

Just above the bookshelf, Major Armstrong's head stuck out as sparkles seemed to glow around him. "There you are, Edward Elric." he said.

"M-Major! What are you doing here?!" Ed stuttered.

"Shh! You have to be quiet in the library." The Major said.

"Nice to see you again, Major." Myra spoke up from the side.

"Well, if it isn't Myra Elric! Long time to see—" he glanced at Ed then back at Myra.

"Don't worry Major," Myra said quickly before he could start panicking. "My brothers found out."

Armstrong looked around before he replied to make sure no one was around to listen in on their conversation, "I hear that the Cloaked Alchemists disbanded. You've been with the Elric brothers ever since?" He whispered to her.

"Pretty much, yeah."

Armstrong began anime crying. "Oh that's wonderful! Being reunited with your brothers!" Myra smiled but sweat-dropped at the Major's usual antics. "Edward! You have no idea how hard it was to keep this a secret from you!"

"It was under Fuhrer Bradley's orders so it's okay, Major. Anyways, why are you here?" Ed asked trying to get to the point.

Armstrong leaned in so only the two Elrics could hear him. "I heard you're after a girl from Xing who carries around a black and white cat."

"Yeah. Wait, how did you know that?" Ed gave a skeptical look.

"I heard from Colonel Mustang. I'm here today on the Colonel's orders." This caught Ed's attention. "Apparently, she's headed north. According to a witness, she was in East City and was headed north from there."

A wide grin grew on his face as determination entered his gold orbs. "Okay! If we know that much, it's safe to give it a try. Thanks a lot, Major. Tell the Colonel I said thanks too."

Before the Major left, he gave a letter to Ed explaining that it's a letter of introduction to give to Major General Armstrong, his older sister at the Northern Headquarters. And with the letter in Ed's pocket, the Major left to complete another task.

Myra helped Ed pick up the books they had dropped at the time of the Major's arrival. "I'll buy the train tickets." Myra volunteered.

"Right. And I'll get Al." Ed nodded, before they parted ways.


	12. Welcome to Briggs

"We're here." said the man who was carrying the Elrics on his wagon.

"If you follow this mountain path, you'll get to the Briggs fortress." he said. They had finally made it to the north. Snowflakes fell from the sky as a white blanket of snow covered the area for as far as the eye could see.

"Thank you." Myra thanked him.

"Oh yeah, you," he pointed to Al, "That's not automail, is it?"

"No." Al answered.

"Oh. Then you should be fine." the man said before leaving.

"What was that about?" Ed asked when the man was out of earshot.

"No idea." Al answered honestly.

"I heard there are bears up here." Ed said as they walked up the mountain in a snowstorm. The light snow that fell from the sky moments ago had quickly escalated into an all out snowstorm the further they went up the mountain.

"Hopefully we don't run into one." Myra said.

"The bears at Briggs grow to a height of up to two meters! Who'd be able to defeat one?!" Al said already wondering what they would do if they ran into one.

A big dark shadow loomed over the three siblings. They each turned around to face the figure before yelling out, "A bear!"

Ed immediately used alchemy to transform his arm into a weapon. "That's not a bear!" Myra pointed out as the figure, who turned out to be just a man, brought down his own automail arm, also in the form of a weapon.

All three managed to dodge, but the man shot something from underneath his arm. A net flew towards Alphonse, but Myra destroyed it with her alchemy using her astonishing speed.

"You're fast." The man pointed out.

It was then that the man's military uniform was recognized by the Elric siblings. Before Myra knew what was going on, Ed and the military officer began arguing about who had the better automail, which Myra sweat dropped to.

The man then accused Ed and Myra of being spies and launched his weapon at Ed, causing him to fly back, but still land on his feet.

Ed opened his mouth to speak, but Myra beat him to it, "Wait! We're on the same side!" she said as she stepped in between the two, facing the military officer.

"What is this pain? My automail isn't moving very well!" Myra could hear Ed say from behind her.

A thought struck her, causing Ed to look up at her. "It might be the conditions up here."

The man wouldn't listen to her and launched an attack at Myra. It was at that moment Myra felt a sudden pain in her chest, halting her actions.

" _Not now!_ " Myra yelled under her shaky breath.

"Sister!" Al shouted, pulling her out of the way just in time and as Ed went to make a counterattack.

"Thanks, Al." she said.

When the two looked back up, Ed's automail arm was caught in the officer's weapon. Al stood up. "Brother!" he called.

Al threw his helmet at Ed, who used it to jam the officer's weapon, allowing him to be released from it. "Thanks, Al!" he called to his brother.

As Ed landed on his feet, the next thing they saw was security personnel from Briggs pointing guns at the Elrics as they put up their hands in a 'we mean no harm' position.

It was then that they noticed a giant wall looming over them. A woman and her bodyguard emerged on a platform. The woman revealed to be Major General Olivier Mira Armstrong, Alex Louis Armstrong's older sister. The man who attacked them moments ago was revealed to be Captain Buccaneer.

The Major General seemed very distrusting of the three. Ed gave her Alex's letter, but she tore it to shreds, claiming to judge the Elrics on her own.

"Come in, Fullmetal Alchemist." she said in a demanding way.

Ed was still gaping at the wall and moved a little slow. The Major General then threatened to 'rip that antenna' off his head, causing a terrified Ed to cower in fear and an also scared Myra to stand in front of him protectively, the whole scene looking sort of comedic to an outsider's point of view.

When talking to the Briggs nurse, she explained that normal automail would be useless against the cold in the north, and that Ed would have to call his mechanic to come up to the north to supply him with a flexible, lightweight automail resistant to the cold.

Now, the three siblings stood in a room with the Major General and her bodyguard. It was just a guess from her experience in the field, but with the goggles he wore, Myra thought of the possibility of the bodyguard being an Ishvalan. Although even if he was, the fact didn't seem to matter too much so she brushed it off.

Olivier sat in a chair as the siblings stood in front of her. "So... I hear you're on good terms with my little brother, Alex." she started the conversation. "Is he doing well?"

"Yeah." Ed said, relaxing somewhat after being thrown off beat a little by her question.

"As muscular as always." Al added.

"He's as cheerful as can be too." Myra said.

Olivier gave them a look that made them close their mouths. "Nevermind that." she quickly changed the subject. "Moving along, tell me why you came to see me without going through Headquarters first. Don't forget to include why that armour is empty as well." She looked at Al.

The Elrics exchanged a look. "It's actually... something we don't want a lot of people to know about." Myra spoke.

"You've got nothing to worry about," the nurse said, "Most of the people here have circumstances of their own. It's not uncommon for us to have things we don't want others to hear as well."

"My sister aside, it's the kind of thing that could get me court-martialed if it reached certain ears..." Ed said.

"Even I have secrets like that!" The Major General snapped, growing impatient.

Al leaned in towards his two elder siblings and started a conversation only they could hear. After Olivier snapped at their whispering, they decided only to tell her that they're on a journey to get their bodies back.

After explaining all that, Olivier spoke, "I see. So that's why you're looking for a girl who carries this cat around." The three nodded firmly. "I'd love to throw you out of my castle right now, but I'm highly interested in Eastern Alchemy. You three are acquainted with that girl from Xing, right?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that..." Al answered.

"It's technology we don't have in this country. I want it." she stated bluntly. "You can never have enough technology. Eastern Alchemy can become a useful combat tool for us."

"Hang on!" Myra said.

"Eastern Alchemy is especially versed in medical purposes," Al explained. "Using that for war—"

"Be quiet!" The Major General said cutting him off. "You're nothing but dogs of the military. You live safe within city walls, but _we_ are the ones who protect you. I am in charge of protecting the northern border. I will make use of any knowledge I get my hands on. Leave the search for the girl to us." She stood up from her seat. "I don't want you three out of the fortress." She turned to her bodyguard. "Major Miles,"

"Yes, ma'am." he called.

"Give these two boys work to do. 'If a man shall not work, he shall not eat.'"

"Yes, ma'am" Miles saluted.

"And you," she pointed to Myra who shivered at the woman's cold look. "I, myself, will give you work to do."

"R-Right." Myra responded. She gave Ed and Al a glance before quickly following the Major General out of the room.

"It seems like your younger brothers have secrets they are not willing to share." Olivier said as the two walked down a long corridor, alone except for Captain Buccaneer trailing behind them. "Don't worry I'm not going to pry the answers out of _you_. I know your past slightly differs from theirs."

"Yeah, it kind of does." Myra fidgeted with her hands nervously, wondering what exactly the Major General wanted to know.

"I don't know what exactly you three have been through, but I know it couldn't have been easy at your ages. And I'm not interested in the squabbles three teenagers have with the Fuhrer," she said, now referring to the Cloaked Alchemists.

"H-How did you know?" Myra asked taken aback, wondering how Olivier knew that she was once part of the infamous group in Central.

"I'm head of command here. I don't get left in the dark in these situations, even if they do take place in Central." she said simply.

"Right." The blonde teenager deadpanned.

"However, I _am_ interested in the Cloaked Alchemists themselves."

"Oh?"

"For starters, I have no tolerance for the weak. But despite your looks I can tell your physically not weak, though on the inside you're still soft. Why'd someone like you have a part in disbanding your little 'group' to join your brothers when you're not even a state alchemist for protection?"

Myra knew she couldn't talk about the Fuhrer or the homunculi. "I can't... tell you that." she responded.

"What kind of hell did you and your cloaked friends go through to be put into a group to receive such title and reputation? None of it makes sense. You're all pretty skilled from what rumours I've heard." The look she gave Myra made it seem as if she was challenging her abilities.

"That's... classified. I can't say." Myra bit her bottom lip.

"I see. Would you happen to know any information that would benefit the north?"

Myra racked her brain, and after a few moments, answered honestly, "No I don't. I'm sorry. Most of the information I have is 'Central-based'."

Olivier searched the girl's golden eyes before concluding that the girl was indeed telling the truth.

She sighed, obviously annoyed that none of her questions could be answered. "The last thing I have to say to you is a warning; a former member of the Cloaked Alchemists traveling around the country. I don't trust you and I don't know what you've been through, but whatever your past is, you're bound to be in danger at some point."

"I already know of the dangers, ma'am. But thanks for the warning." Myra smiled.

"Now I'm still going to give you work to do so you shouldn't feel relaxed just yet!" Olivier yelled causing Myra's smile to falter.

Myra had heavy crates in her arms when she heard a noise coming from outside. She stepped out on a long balcony to see Ed and Al with evil glints in their eyes and Captain Falman anime crying in a corner.

Myra set the crates on the ground at her feet and couldn't help but giggle at the sight in front of her, catching the attention of the three males.

"Oh, hey My!" Ed smiled. "Glad to see you're still in one piece."

"Yeah, when you left with the Major General it got us worried." Al added.

"Don't worry, she's just making me carry these to the supply room." Myra gestured towards the crates.

"Ah, Myra, it's been a while." Falman smiled politely at her.

"Captain Falman! How are you? I heard you got transferred to the north."

"It's cold." he shivered causing the girl to grin in amusement.

"Did _everyone_ at Central Command know you?!" Ed asked dramatically, using his arms for emphasis.

"Yeah! You know Hughes, Colonel Mustang, Lieutenant Hawkeye, Major Armstrong, Captain Falman..." Al counted them off on his armoured fingers.

"Mostly just people on Mustang's team." Myra smiled at them.

" _Formerly_." Falman corrected sadly. "We all got transferred."

"Yeah I heard. I'm sorry that happened."

"Eh it's alright. After all, I did get promoted."

It was then that Myra noticed the star on his shoulder. "Wow, congratulations!"

"Where are those boxed crates?!" A loud booming voice could be heard from back inside the building, causing the four people present to flinch.

"Well, that's my cue!" Myra said grabbing the crates and running to where she was supposed to be at the speed of light, leaving the remaining three to snicker where they stood.

( **A/N:** I'd love to hear what you guys think of the story. Please review to help me improve my writing and to make this a better story)


	13. Problems Arise

The damage was very well still intact after Sloth had attacked the Briggs fortress. He had appeared from underground and continuously dug holes, creating tunnels. Ed had to hold back answers about the homunculi from Olivier. Remembering clearly what the homunculi did to their sister, both Ed and Al tried to keep their sister away from Sloth, but she was stubborn and fought alongside them. Sloth's invulnerability surprised Olivier at first, but she came up with the idea of subduing Sloth by dousing him in fuel and sending him outside to freeze; a plan that the Elrics had assisted in.

Despite their efforts, the Elrics found themselves sleeping in a cell the next morning. It was a fairly small space but still contained enough room for three small beds. Ed was sleeping with his coat, and Myra's cloak, placed over top the thin blanket to help keep him warm. Al was sitting on the edge of his bed reading and Myra sat in the corner of her bed staring at Al's armour, mind drifting off. Oh, and they all had restraints on their wrists.

Ed groaned as he slowly got up. "Morning, Brother." Al greeted as Ed sat up. Myra turned her head at the sudden movement, but didn't really pay attention until her name was called.

"Hey, My, I've been meaning to ask: why did you freeze when we were fighting Captain Buccaneer?"

"Ugh, my foot got caught in the snow." She turned her head away pretending to be in embarrassment. In truth, Myra knew they were bound to ask her about it sooner or later.

"Really? That's it?" Al asked and Ed gave her a skeptical look.

"Were you expecting something else?" She asked in turn.

They exchanged glances, but didn't bother to question it further.

Hours later, three Briggs officers stood outside their cell, "General Armstrong requests to see you." one of them spoke. The three siblings exchanged looks as the cell door was opened. They stood there wordlessly as the officers removed their restraints and led them down several corridors until they reached the entrance to the tunnel Sloth dug.

The Elrics were lowered into the hole where Olivier sat atop a horse. Captain Buccaneer and Lieutenant Falman were down there as well and Olivier motioned for the siblings to climb atop the three vacant horses.

"Wow... This tunnel is huge." Ed gapped as the small group rode further into the tunnel.

"I can't believe we let him break in without noticing all this was going on." Olivier said, half to herself.

"Has anyone else made it into Briggs before?" Myra asked.

"In the time I've been here, no. But around twenty years ago there was a case when our security guards were attacked during midwinter. Apparently, a mysterious woman kept stealing food and supplies for an entire month."

Ed and Al were suddenly suspiciously quiet after that, knowing well that it was their sensei, Izumi Curtis, and Myra seemed to sweat drop.

"I guess this is far enough." Olivier mumbled to herself. "Get off." she commanded.

The Elrics were confused, but complied with her order with no protests. Olivier waited until they got off their horses before she spoke again. "Now, then. You don't have to worry about anyone eavesdropping on us down here." she paused. "Tell me everything you know." Her eyes narrowed. "And I mean _everything_."

They each hesitated so Olivier continued, "When I asked you about the monster, you asked me to try to realize your situation, did you not?" Ed began to feel as if he was being backed up into a corner. "More or less, you believed that I would realize your situation. You could have been killed anytime in that situation, yet you still said those words. So I figured you had something to protect, even if it meant you'd lose your life doing so. For example, a hostage."

A picture of Winry flashed through each of the Elrics' minds. They had told Myra that Winry was a hostage. Myra, in turn, also wanted to protect the girl she once deemed her little sister.

"I want you to cut the bullshit. Tell me the truth." Olivier concluded.

"We need your help." Ed said.

They told her everything they could, about the philosopher's stone, the homunculi, King Bradley, Father and the corruption in the senior staff.

"There are hostages involved as well." Buccaneer pointed out.

"Your friend, an automail mechanic, and Mustang's men. I know Hawkeye and Havoc due to joint drills with the Eastern headquarters, so I would hate it if we lost either of them. I'd like to help," Olivier said in thought.

"Umm, and what about Colonel Mustang?" Falman asked.

"Oh, I don't really care about him." Olivier waved it off. "Seeing him fall from power would eliminate another rival." Ed, Al, Myra and Falman sweat dropped at this. "More importantly, we need to figure out what to do next. What do you alchemists make of this tunnel?"

Ed, Al and Myra exchanged glances before they each took a closer look at the tunnel.

After taking the time to each think about it themselves, the Elrics along with the others present stood around a map of Amestris.

"I highly doubt this tunnel was dug from Drachma." Myra began.

"This is only a hypothesis, but it seems as though this tunnel was dug to create a large circle." Ed continued.

"A circle?" Buccaneer asked in disbelief.

"Alchemy. In our field, a circle is the symbol to control power." Myra clarified.

Ed seemed to be in thought before a light bulb seemed to go off in his head. With a pencil in hand, Ed circled Ishval on the map. "Lieutenant Falman, can you list the major incidents in Amestris that resulted in a lot of bloodshed?" he asked.

Though confused with what Ed was trying to decipher, Falman crouched down to the level of the map and began listing places and dates with similar events as the Ishvalan war as Ed circled them.

"...And lastly, the Liore incident in 1914. Severe casualties."

"Wai—" Ed cut himself off.

"A riot?! Why?!" Al asked shocked.

This also caught Myra's attention. Her brother's had mentioned Liore and she heard how the Fullmetal Alchemist and his brother revealed Cornello for being the fake that he was.

Falman explained how the Central Army came and forced the Eastern Army to withdraw, and how Liore just fell to pieces afterwards.

Ed held his head in his hand. "No way. Dammit!" he cursed under his breath.

The comforting hand of his sister reached his shoulder, "Ed..."

"No time for that. Back to work Fullmetal." Olivier ordered.

Ed spared a glare in her direction before saying, "Alright, fine."

He circled Liore before connecting the dots. Everyone moved in closer to see the result.

Myra let out a shaky breath and Olivier widened her eyes in shock. With the dots connected, what resembled a transmutation circle seemed to cover the entire country of Amestris.

"It looks like the transmutation circle from the fifth laboratory!" Falman exclaimed.

"How many people are going to have to die before creating this Philosopher's Stone?!" Myra's balled up fists shook in anger.

"Sister..." Al noticed his sister's anger.

Taking a closer look at the map, Falman realized something, his words catching everyone's attention. "The military was involved in each incident! The coup d'etat, civil wars... Liore too. The Central Army would get involved and make matters worse."

"Ever since the nation was founded?!" Ed asked dumbfounded.

"So everything done to expand Amestris was done to create this circle?!" Olivier was astonished at the fact, as well as everyone else.

"Their entire purpose was to use this land and all it's people to create the stone." Ed said.

"Do you think General Hughes—"

"Yeah," Ed said, cutting his brother off after seeing the look in his sister's eyes at the mention of Hughes. "Before he was killed, he must've seen the transmutation circle."

"He was serving in the court martial office and had access to more resources than anyone else." Myra said, shaking off the emotions she felt at Hughes' name. "He was the first to recognize the transmutation circle."

"I don't like this!" The General yelled, her anger bubbling. "If your theory is correct, the next and last place to be filled with bloodshed is Briggs! What do those bastards in Central plan to do with my fort?!"

Just then, another Briggs officer rushed to where they were on horse. "Major General!" he called out. "You're needed back at the fort. Lieutenant General Raven has come from Central to see you."

Ed and Al looked up at their sister. "Hey, I didn't know about General Raven when I chose my alias!" she defended, shaking her hands in front of her, defending her former name in the Cloaked Alchemists.

"Major General Armstrong," Ed turned to Olivier. "Could you possibly try to trick General Raven to get some information?"

A microphone and wire were hidden in a vent, capturing every word said between the Major General and Lieutenant General through a radio. Ed, Al, Myra, Buccaneer and Falman listened in on their conversation from the safety of another room.

At one point in their conversation, General Raven mentioned obtaining an immortal body, which quickly captured the attention of the Elrics.

 _"Say, Major General."_ his voice rang through the radio. _"Are you interested in a perfect, immortal army?"_

( **A/N:** Don't forget to review!)


	14. Tension

_"Well, are you interested or not?"_ General Raven's voice rang through the radio. _"There are only two answers."_

 _"It is intriguing."_ Came Olivier's reply. Her voice purred in a way Myra didn't think was possible for her. _"Tell me General, will my men share in this gift as well? Or is it only for me?"_

 _"I can tell you when the time comes."_ he tried to assure her.

There was a moment's pause as Olivier seemed to debate on whether she should accept his offer or not.

But before the Major General could finish contemplating, a knock interrupted their conversation. A Briggs officer arrived to deliver news that something had happened to the advanced team in the tunnel. Olivier states that she's going to check it out immediately while General Raven follows.

"Alright, let's go too." Buccaneer said. Everyone stood from their places and headed towards the door.

"Hold on a second." Ed stopped them. He then transmuted the material from a few sacks to make rope. "It has to look convincing."

Moments later, the Elrics were tied up in rope and being escorted down a corridor by Buccaneer and Falman.

Their paths crossed with Major Miles who was giving Solf J. Kimblee a tour of the facilities.

"Buccaneer, what are you doing?" Miles stopped to address the Captain.

"Prisoner transfer, sir." he answered. "I'm moving the Elric siblings from the East cell to the West. May I ask who this is?" Buccaneer looked over to Kimblee.

"This is Mr. Solf J. Kimblee. He's General Raven's honoured guest."

 _'Kimblee. The Crimson Alchemist. The one who caused all that mayhem in Ishval?'_ Myra thought, her eyes narrowing.

"Wait, did you say the Elric brothers?" Kimblee asked with a smirk on his face.

" _Siblings_." Myra clarified after not being acknowledged by the so-called powerful alchemist.

"Now I understand your nickname." he said to Al, completely ignoring Myra. Al shrunk in response, knowing what was to follow.

Miles, Buccaneer and Falman pointed to Ed and Myra motioned to him as best as she could with her hands tied behind her back.

"Oh, it's this one." Kimblee said in disbelief. Ed made a face as if he could snap at any given moment.

"Nice to meet you. I've heard much about the Fullmetal Alchemist."

"Hello." Ed replied blandly.

The Elrics sat in their cells, restraints once again around their wrists. A silence filled the room for several moments before Ed decided to speak up.

"I can't believe what happened in Liore." Ed mumbled into his hands.

"If we knew a riot would happen like that, then..." Al trailed off.

"There was no way you guys could've known what was going to happen." Myra told them firmly, but sincerely. "I heard about what you two did, and you exposed Cornello for being the fake that he was." Ed and Al looked up at her. "The riot that occurred was due to the Central forces, not you guys."

"But even so, now, Liore could—"

"You don't know what Liore is like right now. Who knows, maybe it came out better than it was before Cornello even showed up."

"I suppose... you're right." Al agreed after a moment. "We won't know until we see it for ourselves."

"Yeah, I guess so." Ed gave a kind smile in thanks to his sister. But his smile soon faded when he noticed something in his sister's eyes. "My? You sound like your talking from experience."

Myra was taken aback by his statement as Al looked to her as well. "Well, I didn't go through what you two did, but I did feel a similar amount of regret... after Hughes' death."

"Huh? Why?" Al asked curiously.

Myra bit her lip. "I saw him that night. I was the last person to see him before his death. I couldn't make it in time... I couldn't save Hughes." Myra stared at the wall instead of her brothers to prevent tears from welling up in her eyes.

"But it wasn't your fault." Ed said.

"There was no way you could've known." Al continued. Both of them mimicking her words.

The sound of a door opening and movement down the hall alerted the three Elrics of a new presence, abruptly cutting their conversation short. Ed straightened his back as the three suddenly became more attentive to what was going on around them.

The key to their cell made a sound against the metal door as it swung open. General Raven stepped inside before it closed once again.

"I am General Raven, from Central. I heard a lot about you from the Fuhrer President." he said.

"Hello." Ed greeted back emotionlessly.

"It seems you've been good and kept your mouths shut."

"That was the agreement." Ed said as he stared at his shoes.

"You don't seem too happy."

"Wouldn't it be strange to be happy after having your friends taken hostage?"

"Umm, when can we get out of here?" Al spoke up. "The deal was that we'd be able to continue our journey as long as we didn't get in your way."

"Don't worry, I'll get you out of here soon."

"That hole," Myra said. "It's also part of your plan, isn't it?"

"If they find out..." Ed spoke.

"Again, you don't need to worry. Major General Armstrong agreed to returning the homunculus in the tunnel and sealing the hole." The siblings gasped at his words. "The Major General is on our side now."

"She killed him?!" Ed asked shocked.

"Lieutenant General Raven?!" Al said, equally astonished.

"General Armstrong killed him...?" Myra shared in her brothers' surprised reactions.

"Yup, and that was all I was ordered to tell you." Neil said before turning his back to them to make his exit.

Ed ran up and grabbed the bars of the cell. "Hey, wait! When are you guys gonna let us out of here?!"

"Who knows." Neil replied nonchalantly. "Take it up with the Major General." And with that, he made his exit.

"Dammit..."

"We just need to be patient, Ed." Myra told him.

"Getting angry won't do any good, Brother." Al pitched in. "We should just rest for now."

Ed groaned in frustration. "I can't just sit around when all of this is going on. I need to do something!"

The sound of the door creaking outside their cell captured their attention as Kimblee strolled in.

"How's it going? I've come to speak to the Fullmetal Alchemist."

Ed groaned at his presence. "Oh? It seems as though I'm not very popular here." Kimblee said. "I've brought a guest today for you three."

"A guest?" Ed asked, wondering who it might be.

Footsteps could be heard as a blonde female walked up to their cell.

Myra shot bolt upright from the slouched uninterested position she had taken when Kimblee walked in. Now attentive of the things going on around her, Myra felt slightly nervous as she stared at the blonde through the cell's bars in awe.

But before Myra could be noticed by the blonde, Ed and Al started panicking.

"Winry?!" Ed yelled.

"Why did you come here?!" Al questioned.

"'Why?' To change your automail to the kind they use in the north!" Winry shouted back at them.

"Wait a minute. Why are you guys—" Winry cut herself off, finally noticing the golden haired girl in the cell. "M-M-Myra...?" her breath caught in her throat.

Myra gave a genuine smile. "It's been a while, Winry."

"B-But how? I thought—"

"It's kind of a lot to explain." Myra said apologetically, taking a few step towards the blonde.

"I-Idiot! We missed you!" the girl shouted, suddenly grabbing Myra and hugging her the best she could through the bars, fighting back tears. Myra so desperately wanted to hug her back, but the restraints on her wrists prevented that.

"You've really grown up, Winry." Myra smiled down at her.

A few seconds passed before Winry forced herself to pull away from the hug. "And what are you three doing in that cell?"

"No one called you out here!" Ed argued.

"What's your problem? I was worried about you! Someone from the military contacted me!"

"The military?"

"Come on you guys," Kimblee said putting his hands on Winry's shoulders. "The Fuhrer was very worried to hear of your situation."

All three tensed up and Myra and Ed shot daggers at Kimblee.


	15. A Glimpse of the Past

_Huh?" A young Myra looked into the pantry to find that they were running low on potatoes. She was going to need more than they had to prepare tonight's dinner._

 _"Ed? Al?" Myra spoke, peeking her head into their father's study where the two young boys seemed to spend most of their time nowadays._

 _"I'm going out to get more potatoes to make dinner."_

 _"Hmm?" Ed hummed, not really paying attention with his head buried in a thick book._

 _"Ok," Al said, his eyes also glued to a mass text in front of him._

 _Myra giggled. She walked over to each of them and kissed them on their heads, causing them both to drag their eyes away from their work and look up at their sister._

 _She gave them both a side hug before saying, "I'll be back soon."_

 _"Bye!" They said in unison._

 _Myra had a bag in hand as she walked back home. The sky was painted in an array of yellows and oranges to make a sunset._ _An evening breeze lightly ruffled the leaves in the nearby trees._

'That took me longer than expected. I hope Ed and Al aren't worried. But then again, they probably haven't even left dad's study.' _Myra mused._

 _"Do you happen to be Myra Elric?"_ _A voice suddenly said from behind her. "The young alchemist that we've heard so much about?" The voice seemed smooth, but at the same time, taunting._

 _It was enough to make Myra halt in her tracks, but she kept calm as she asked, "Who are you and how do you know who I am?"_

 _Myra turned her head to come face to face with a woman with long black, wavy hair. She was wearing a strapless black dress with long black gloves and black high heeled boots. She also had a symbol on her chest that Myra didn't recognize._

 _"Well you_ did _become kind of popular back in Dublith when you rescued innocent people after a construction accident. As for my name... call me Lust." She said, extending her fingernails into long claws and launching them at Myra without a moment's hesitation._

 _"Lust?" Myra repeated as she quickly dodged the attack. "What do you want from me?!"_

 _"Sorry, sweetheart, but you have to come with me. You'll find out eventually." She said as her arm extended, claws aimed at Myra._

 _Myra dropped the bag, spilling its contents. She jumped up to dodge again, but Lust's arm followed her. It curved and Myra brought her leg down on it when landing._

 _She didn't have time to think before Lust's other claws tried to grab her, forcing Myra to jump back._

 _Myra swiftly drew a transmutation circle on the ground before clapping her hands and placing them on the ground. A giant cloud of dust appeared around the two, making it quite difficult to see._

 _"Where did you go?" Lust whispered to herself in the thick dust cloud when her claws struck nothing but_ _air._

 _A clapping was heard before several pillars_ _came from the ground at Lust._

 _The dust cloud disappeared and Myra's eyes widened at Lust._

 _Lust's left shoulder had a gaping hole in it, but it was... regenerating?_

 _"W-What—?"_

 _"Don't bother," Lust interrupted. "Your questions will be answered soon enough. I have to admit, I did underestimate you, but that ends now." She pulled out her claws again._

 _Myra put her shock aside as she got into a fighting position._

 _Lust made the first move, throwing her arm out as Myra ran towards her, moving at the right times to avoid her arm and claws. She did the same thing when Lust launched her other arm at her._

 _Myra moved under her arms and swiftly behind Lust to deliver a kick to her back from her blind spot. Then, Myra quickly ran in front of Lust and punched her in the stomach._

 _Myra tried to punch her again, but this time Lust caught her fist. Myra didn't let this faze her as she moved to sweep Lust's feet from under her, but was forced to jump instead to avoid her claws once again._

 _Myra tried to get out of Lust's grip, but the more she struggled, the tighter Lust held on._

 _"I... won't... let you... take me." Myra said between her struggles._ _Her golden eyes filled with determination as she thought of Ed, Al, Winry and Granny Pinako._

 _She decided to take a different approach by twisting her wrist and pulling it away from Lust, jumping back to create some distance between them._

 _"Unfortunately, you don't have a choice," Lust narrowed her eyes. Her long claws advancing towards Myra once again._ _But instead of attempting to strike her, she swiped at the ground harshly by Myra's feet._

 _Myra didn't react fast enough and some dust got in her eyes. It stung too much to open them so she was forced to keep them closed._

 _Not being able to rely on her sight anymore, Myra relied on her ears to listen for Lust._

 _She stood there in a battle position, listening attentively to her surroundings. When she heard a faint noise coming from her left side, Myra jumped up to dodge Lust's claws and used the angle of Lust's arm to lead her to her._

 _Myra slid across the dirt as she blocked Lust's next attack and tried to move behind her._

 _Myra stopped in her tracks when she couldn't hear anything anymore._

 _Knowing Lust was up to something, she waited and listened for any kind of sound or movement. Myra slowly and quietly began drawing a transmutation circle in the dirt with her shoe._

 _When she finally heard something on her right side, Myra's hands clapped and hit the transmutation circle at her feet as she launched an attack at Lust._

 _Myra followed behind her transmutation to land another blow, but stopped midway when she felt a sharp pain in her stomach. It felt like something had just pierced her from behind._

 _"Sorry, but I wasn't where you thought I was." A sinister voice said from behind._

 _Myra coughed as she felt a warm liquid slide down the side of her mouth. Blood._

 _Myra bit back a gagged scream when she felt Lust remove her claw._

 _She fell onto her hands and knees, trying to ignore the pain she felt in order to stand up. But alas, to no avail._

 _Myra tried to force her eyes open, but they still stung. Even so, she was still able to open them slightly as her body collapsed to the ground._

 _'N-No... Ed... Al... Please stay safe.' Was the last thing she thought before her eyes fluttered shut._

Myra's eyes shot open and she quickly sat up. She took a moment to take in her surroundings and relaxed when she realized that she was still in their cell in Briggs.

"Sister, are you ok?" Al asked, concern in his voice. "You seemed like you were having a bad dream."

"I'm ok, I just... dreamt about the time Lust kidnapped me from Resembool." Myra said quietly so only Al could hear as two of Kimblee's men stood guarding the two just outside their cell. "Where's Ed?" She asked, changing the subject.

"Winry has to change his automail. They'll be back soon... Are you sure your gonna be ok?"

"Don't worry, I'm fine." Myra flashed her signature smile to comfort him.

She looked at Al then back at Kimblee's men. She knew Al wanted to question her more, but not here, not where Kimblee's men could so easily overhear. So instead she brought up something else to lighten the mood a little.

"So, what's going on between Ed and Winry?" Myra asked.

Myra could've sworn a sly smile was growing on Al's face as he said, "I think Brother and Winry need lessons in flirting."

Myra couldn't hold back a laugh as she recalled their bickering earlier. "Yeah I think you're right!"

It didn't take long after that for Winry to join them by their cell. "Hey, Winry." Myra greeted. "That took longer than expected."

"Sorry but they let me check out some Northern automail!" she said excitedly, reminiscing in the memories from moments ago.

While Ed had yet to return, Winry entered the cell and stood firmly in front of Myra with her hands on her hips. "So, are you going to give me a proper explanation anytime soon?" she asked with a warning tone in her voice.

Myra leaned in to whisper so only Winry and Al could hear her, "Not right now," she gestured to the two guards. "I'll explain later."

Winry was hesitant at first, but soon sighed in defeat. "You've always been so much like your brothers; always getting into trouble. I mean, being thrown into jail with them and just when you started traveling with them?! Unbelievable!" she fumed.

"But I'm glad you're back," Winry's eyes turned glassy as she gazed at Myra, hugging her.

Myra's face softened, realizing that Winry was just worried about her and nodded, trying her best to hug back. "There's nothing to worry about Winry, I'm ok now." Myra forced a smile on her face to reassure the blonde in front of her.

The three soon heard footsteps and it wasn't long before Ed soon entered their cell, a smile completely nonexistent from his features.

Myra could easily guess why as she noticed Kimblee standing off to the side, listening to every word he had to say.

"Winry, you were only brought to Briggs as a hostage." Al, Myra and Winry each looked taken aback. Neither Al nor Myra were expecting him to admit it to her.

"What? What does he mean?" Winry looked to Al and Myra who thought it best if Ed continued.

"Listen, I've been ordered by the Fuhrer to fulfill my duties as a human weapon. In other words, they're ordering me to help them commit mass murder."

Winry gasped and stood up, "Why don't you just refuse?!" Ed averted his gaze.

Realization suddenly struck her, "Oh, I see." she said holding back tears. "They're using me to hold you down... I won't cry. I'm just upset with myself for being so naïve. I'm sorry. All you were trying to do was get your original bodies back."

"About that, they actually offered me a Philosopher's Stone as payment."

Al seemed taken aback, "A Stone? But—"

"That's right, Kimblee has one."

 _'Dammit! That explains Ishval and his name,_ _the Crimson Alchemist.'_ Myra thought to herself.

"We can't Brother! The ingredients for a Philosopher's Stone are—"

"I know, Al!"

Silence befell them before Al spoke, "Go ahead and do what you want." he said coldly.

"I will." Ed shot back before turning around.

"Myra, say something!" Winry prompted the girl to stop her brother, but Myra knew it was best not to say anything.

Ed exited the cell, leaving with Kimblee, their conversation being heard as they left.

"I'm in, alright? But finding Scar is the first thing I wanna do."

"Oh yeah? And why is that?"

"Scar is the one who murdered Winry's parents. They deserve vengeance."

"I see. Fine with me."

Winry stared at their backs worriedly as she also exited the cell.

"Also, I'll need Al and Myra with me. Al doesn't have a body so he's immune to Scar's bodily destruction. Myra's speed will also speed up the process and make things go a lot smoother."

"Well, I guess that would be helpful." was the last thing they heard Kimblee say before he, Ed and his two men left the room.

"Are you two really okay with this?" Winry asked once they were gone.

"The Philosopher's Stone, it can only be made by sacrificing human lives." Al explained to her.

Winry was shocked, her eyes wavered before her head quickly shot up in the direction Ed and Kimblee just left.

"Don't worry. Ed would never actually use one." Myra assured.

"And we don't need it." Al added. "We think we might be able to use Eastern alchemy as a way to help get our bodies back. There's a girl travelling with Scar. We think she can teach it to us."

"So then, is he going after Scar to find this girl?"

"Yeah," Myra nodded. "We think so."

"I see." Winry smiled softly before a look of determination set in her eyes. "Then I guess I better come up with a believable excuse."


	16. An Old Friend

Myra stood in the desert plains. The air was humid, but thankfully a cool breeze blew by every once in a while.

A sigh of relief escaped her lips as her eyes set upon Liore. She momentarily halted her walking to take in the sight. The wind blew gently through her golden blonde hair as she recalled the events of the past few days. She didn't expect that everyone would end up separated like this. And she didn't expect to be hunted down by the homunculi like this either. Maybe she should've been more wary from the start.

~Several days earlier~

"Why is this place so BIG?!" Ed shouted out a large window, frustration clear in his tone.

"It's gonna take w _eeks_ to search every one of these buildings." Al said after he finished inspecting a random part of the room they were in, becoming weary just by the thought of searching every building for Scar and the girl.

"There has to be some easier way to do this." Myra said, standing in the middle of the room, mentally going through their options while feeling just as tired and frustrated as her brothers.

"It'd make things a hell of a lot easier if Scar and that girl just came to us." An annoyed look plastered itself onto Ed's face.

Suddenly, a tiny voice from far away caught the siblings' attention as they heard it call, "Alphonse! Alphonse!"

Their heads snapped up to face the direction of the girl running towards them calling Al's name.

"Don't tell me—"

"It can't be..."

"No way!"

"I can't believe it's you!" May Chang shouted excitedly as she tackled Al in a hug, causing him to fall to the ground.

"She _did_ come to us." Ed deadpanned, causing Myra to sweat drop at his comment.

Just as May began to question Al on what he is doing here, Myra's head snapped to the side. She could've sworn she had just seen something in the corner of her eye a moment ago.

Ed's yelling, however, drew the girl's attention back to the three just in time to hear May swoon saying, "Oh no, now both brothers have fallen in love with me!" Myra sweat dropped once again until the sound of Winry's voice coming from Al's armour could be heard.

Al let the poor girl out of his armour, apologizing, as she landed on one knee, "I kept bumping my head." she groaned, rubbing her head.

"Excuse me! Who is this woman, Al?!" May shouted, obviously jumping to false conclusions.

Myra watched in slight amusement until May suddenly turned to her, "And Alphonse, who is _this_ woman?! She's too old for you!"

"No, no that's totally not it!" Al said quickly.

"I'm just his older sister." Myra reassured the girl, waving her hands in front of her.

May glanced at Al who nodded in confirmation before turning back to Myra. "Ohhh then why didn't you just say so!" May said before turning back to face Winry, "But that still doesn't explain _this_ girl!"

Myra then noticed someone else entering the room.

"May, you shouldn't go wondering off like that." he scolded. "Wait, the Elric brothers are here?!" the man exclaimed upon seeing the two said brothers.

"Who are you?" Ed questioned him suspiciously.

"Oh right, my face is different. It's Dr. Marcoh!" The man introduced himself.

"Dr. Marcoh?!" The boys exclaimed.

Another man appeared behind Marcoh, seemingly having a nonchalant expression until laying eyes on two certain brothers. "The Elric brothers?!" he cried.

"And who are you?" Ed suddenly deadpanned.

"Don't act like you've forgotten Yoki!" Yoki boasted about himself. He kept blabbering as Ed and Al couldn't recall ever meeting him, telling his life story about what happened after he met Ed and Al.

Ed easily dismissed him as Myra turned to Marcoh. "So, Dr. Marcoh... was it?"

"Yes," he responded. "And I don't believe we've met."

"Right, I'm Myra Elric." she introduced herself.

"Wait, did you say 'Elric'?"

"Yes, I'm Ed and Al's older sister." she smiled politely at him.

"Well it's nice to meet you." he said.

"Likewise." Myra nodded.

In the next few moments everyone present in the room gathered and Ed stepped forward. "I've learned a lot since we met," he spoke, everyone now either standing or sitting in a circle, "like what it takes to make a Philosopher's Stone. I know there's something wrong with this country and rotten with it's alchemy. We've decided to look into the possibility of Eastern Alchemy and we figured that she could help." Ed gestured towards May.

"You're on the right path. But you're not the first to put all of these pieces together." Marcoh said, taking a book out of the inside of his jacket. "This book is a collection of research and theories. It's written in code, but we believe this book contains all of the answers we need."

"If we can decipher what's in there, then Al, Myra and I can—"

"Perhaps. I think so. But they'll be impossible to translate without the assistance of Scar."

"Well what do we need _him_ for?!" Ed's anger rose at the mention of Scar.

"If we need help from Scar, then that book must be written in Ishvalan, right?" Myra guessed.

Marcoh nodded, "Yes, that's correct."

For a few seconds, it was silent, but the sound of an explosion caught everyone's attention. Marcoh moved to the window to get a better view of what was going on.

"That was the building that Scar is in!" he told the group.

Everyone stood up. "Look, everyone just needs to stay put and hide out in here. Myra, Al and I will find out what's going on." Ed declared. And with that, the three exited the room and headed to where Scar is.

"Well, looks like we got here just in time." Myra said nonchalantly as the three entered the room where Scar was currently fighting two chimeras who almost had him beat.

"Didn't these three run off somewhere?" One chimera spoke.

"Sister, Brother, his voice." Al pointed out. "I think these are Kimblee's men."

"They are?" Ed seemed skeptical at first.

"Yeah, I think you're right." Myra said after taking a closer look at them.

The chimera began to speak again but Myra didn't get to hear what they said before Ed and Al started lashing out on them saying, "Talking monsters!"

She stared in slight amusement, knowing that they were just messing around. "Okay..." she said to herself before advancing towards one of the chimeras, leaving the other one for Ed and Al.

She didn't bother using alchemy, choosing to use close combat instead. Myra dodged the acidic 'saliva' the chimera tried to spit at her without allowing a single drop to touch her skin or clothes. When she got close enough to the chimera she swept his feet out from under him. He tried to attack her, but it seemed like all of his attacks would merely strike air.

The chimera suddenly felt a pain shoot up from the back of his neck. His body felt limb and he collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Myra stood behind him after hitting the back of his neck.

Myra looked over just in time to see Al put the other chimera in a similar unconscious state.

For a short moment, everything was quiet. Until a blue light reflected off the walls and the familiar crackling sound drew Myra's attention to Scar.

"You just had to go and free yourself. You really think your gonna get away?" Ed scoffed.

"Give up, Scar! It's time to pay for what you've done!" Al told him.

"I _will_ kill you if you try to stop me." Scar threatened.

"Go ahead and try." Myra shot back, taking a step forward so she was a little closer to him, her eyes narrowed.

She was about to take another step towards Scar, but stopped herself. Side glancing to her left. This time she saw it. Myra saw something in the corner of her eye again and she knew it was there.

The commotion happening several feet in front of her brought Myra back to the current situation as she realized that Ed and Al had just charged at Scar, the three about to engage in another fight.

"Shit!" Myra muttered under her breath as she clapped her hands together.

"Don't hurt them!" An urgent voice came from the doorway. Everyone turned their heads to see Winry. Seeing her caused Scar to stutter mid-attack, giving Ed and Al the chance they needed to catch him off guard and punch him into a wall. Al used his alchemy to attach Scar's right arm to the wall so he couldn't escape as Ed began to lecture Winry. Myra returned her hands to her side.

"What are you doing here, you idiot?!" Ed yelled.

Winry didn't respond. Instead, she tried to step forward, but was stopped when Major Miles put a hand on her shoulder, him appearing on the scene with two other men from Briggs.

He ordered his men to tie up both of the unconscious chimeras before he approached Scar. As he did so, Myra put a hand on both Ed and Al's shoulders as she walked past.

"I'm going to make sure no more of Kimblee's men are around." She told them, gesturing to the two chimeras that were now tied up to a column. The two hesitated before nodding their heads.

Myra exited the same doorway Winry and Miles had just walked through moments ago, trusting her brothers to take care of Winry and the matter at hand.

She walked down the hallway, not allowing her feet to echo with each step she took. She swiftly turned down a small corridor, grabbing someone by their cloak and pushing them up against the wall.

"What the hell do you think you're doing here?!" Myra whisper shouted, the faint voices of Ed and Miles echoing throughout the halls.

"I think the better question is; what are _you_ doing?" The girl Myra had pushed against the wall narrowed her eyes as Myra slowly loosened her grip before letting go completely.

"What do you mean, Ava?" Myra also narrowed her eyes as the girl in front of her reached up to pull down her grey hood, revealing her short red locks and chocolate brown eyes.

"Rave—"

"We're not the Cloaked Alchemists anymore." Myra cut her off bluntly, her arms crossed.

"Myra," Ava began, "The group just disbanded and the first thing you do is find and travel around with your brothers?! I mean, what—!"

"And what are _you_ doing?" Myra cut her off, not wanting to hear her scolding. "You coming here to talk to me could be very dangerous. Not just for us or my brothers, but everyone else here." Myra took a breath to calm herself, "Look, I know it was stupid to search for my brothers and maybe I've been a little too carefree... but, I've missed them for _so_ long and I just didn't want to be apart from them any longer. Not when I finally got some of my freedom back! I also have the promise I made to Drew..." Her voice grew quieter.

"My, I understand, I really do." A sympathetic look found it's way onto Ava's features as she put a comforting hand on Myra's shoulder. "Your brothers are your only family left and you want to protect them at all costs. They're important to you, but this could put you in a lot of danger as well."

Myra took a breath before sighing, "I know. But I can't just sit by and watch them suffer. If there's something I can do, I want to do it."

It was Ava's turn to sigh. "You're so stubborn, My."

"So did you risk your life coming here just so you could yell at me?" Myra asked, a slight teasing tone in her voice. Ava smirked, but it soon faded as her expression turned serious.

"I came to warn you." she said.

"Warn me?"

"Out of the three of us, you're the one who is in the most danger right now." her face solemn.

"Bradley? No wait, the homunculi Father." Myra guessed, mirroring Ava's serious expression.

Ava nodded her head, "They captured us for a reason, and we survived. But you're the only one who was forced to do human transmutation. They're keeping you alive for a reason, My, your brothers too. It's only a matter of time. You could end up dead. Just, whatever you do..." Ava paused, "be careful."

"I promise." Myra's face softened. "But it _is_ me we're talking about." She said jokingly.

"I know, I know." Ava waved her hand dismissively with a small smile on her face. "You, I trust. It's _them_ I don't." She scowled slightly on 'them', referring to the homunculi.

"And I won't be alone." Myra stared off in the direction her brothers and the others were. "I didn't want them involved in the homunculi's plans but," Myra paused, turning to look back at her former comrade and friend. "They are now and there was nothing I could've done to prevent it... They're stronger than they look though." Myra smiled slightly, looking off to the side.

After a moment of silence, Ava sighed, "You didn't tell them yet, did you?"

Myra's face held a guilty expression. "They've been through enough."

"They're going to find out eventually."

"I know... just, not yet."

"It's your call. And I know that you're trying to do what's best for them, but wouldn't it benefit them more if you told them ahead of time... or, I hate to say it, but history might repeat itself."

After a moment of thought, Myra spoke, "You're right. I've been putting it off. I'll tell them when I get the chance."

Ava gave a half smile before saying, "I think my time is running short. I need to leave and get back to Ash—Oscar," she quickly corrected herself, "before I get caught or someone suspects you for being gone too long." she said, walking further down the corridor. "Make sure you take care of yourself."

"Thank you, Ava. I'll do my best... You gonna be ok?"

"You underestimate a former Cloaked Alchemist." Ava winked before she disappeared from sight.

"I really hope we get to see each other again." Myra whispered, smiling slightly to herself before turning to head back the way she came.


	17. Separation

Myra was silent as she walked alongside Ed. The snow crunched beneath her boots with each step she took. Myra didn't show it at the time, but her conversation with Ava kept plaguing her mind.

 _'They're keeping you alive for a reason, My._ _Your brothers too.'_ Ava's words echoed in her ears.

 _'They're going to use us as sacrifices, aren't they?'_ She thought to herself.

She looked at Ed who had his eyes focused on Kimblee as they were leading him into a trap Myra wasn't sure would work or not. She wished Al hadn't separated from them. But then again, it might make things easier for the homunculi if they were together.

The sound of Ed's voice snapped Myra out of her thoughts. It was then that she realized that they had stopped, a few metres away from where Kimblee stood, his back facing them.

"You're trying to buy some time for your snipers to get into position." Kimblee turned his head to look at the two Elrics. "Aren't you?"

Ed looked shocked before quickly composing himself.

Myra narrowed her eyes, "You knew about that?" She said, trying to make it sound like a question.

"I can almost smell the murderous intent in the air around here. It's like a sixth sense I picked up while in Ishval."

Kimblee then raised both of his hands. Not sure as to what he might do, Myra now stood in front of Ed, her hands slamming together, creating a wall in front of her and her brother as it hit the ground.

A thick fog filled the air around them.

"He's using the snow to block our view!" Myra quickly realized as she let the wall come down.

"Dammit!" Ed muttered.

He shouted after Kimblee as he and Myra started to run towards the Crimson Alchemist, but two of his bodyguards, who were now transformed into chimeras, began to strike attacks at the two from behind.

Ed was able to step back in time, only allowing thin claw marks on the arm of his coat. Myra blocked a punch from the second chimera, getting away clean.

The two chimeras glared, looking slightly menacing under the fog created by the snow. Myra glanced back in Kimblee's direction.

"My, go!" She whipped her head back around to look at Ed. "Go after Kimblee. I'll handle these two!" He gestured to the big chimeras in front of him.

Myra was about to protest, but knew it was pointless. "Right. Good luck." She nodded before heading in the direction she last saw Kimblee.

She didn't have to search for long before she found him at the bottom of a staircase next to a few warehouses. Myra stood at the top of the stairs as she called, "Hey, Kimblee!"

The Crimson Alchemist only turned his head to speak to her, "Well, Myra Elric, what can I do for you?" He said nonchalantly.

"Cut the crap!" She snapped, causing Kimblee to now turn his whole body to face her. A frown lining his features.

He opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it. He sighed, "I don't have time for this." He turned around, his back now facing the blonde girl.

"Kimblee—" she started, but was soon cut off by a voice that sent chills down her spine.

"Now, now, Myra. No need to get upset."

" _Envy!"_ She scowled his name as the said person emerged from inside one of the warehouses next to Kimblee.

"Sorry, sweetheart, but instead you'll be dealing with us."

"'Us'?" Myra questioned, half to herself. Envy just smirked as he pointed behind her.

Before Myra could look behind her, she heard the words, "Found you!", just before Gluttony's long tongue shot out. Myra, being faster than that, jumped over the rails of the staircase to avoid being eaten.

"Well, looks like I have a different Elric to deal with." Kimblee said before walking past Envy to head in the direction Ed was.

"Wait!" Myra tried to stop him, but her path was blocked by Envy. Gluttony stood behind her.

"What do you want?" Venom dripped from the blonde girl's voice.

"For someone as smart as you that was a pretty dumb question." Envy replied bluntly. "You'll be coming with us."

"Why?" Myra questioned, readying herself for battle.

"Because Father told us to capture you. He doesn't like you wandering around without us knowing." Gluttony said in his child-like voice.

"I know what he's planning, and he's not going to get anywhere near my brothers as long as I'm here." She growled.

"Oh, he knows." Envy's signature fiendish smile flashed onto his face. Gluttony's tongue suddenly shot out again from behind Myra. She dodged it by swiftly jumping to the side, creating a sharp wall in front of her, which managed to slice off a part of Gluttony's tongue as it tried to pursue her. She was about to make another counterattack against Gluttony before his tongue could regenerate, but that's when Envy joined the battle. Taking an opportunity to elbow her in the stomach, Envy barely missed as Myra moved back just in time. Just as his elbow missed, Myra delivered a kick to Envy in the solar plexus, causing him to fly back.

Gluttony launched himself at Myra, but she stepped to the side, slamming Gluttony into the ground with her foot when he came close enough.

"We trained you well." Envy's voice sounded from behind her.

She turned her head slightly to face him, "Sure, I learned a few moves and increased my speed from my time underground, but in case you haven't noticed, you didn't teach me _most_ of the things that I know." A smirk grew on her face as Myra thought of her teacher she left Resembool to train under so long ago. The two homunculi took that as a threat as the three once again engaged in battle.


	18. Too Many Questions, Too Little Answers

With the relief of finally reaching a town in the desert plains, Myra let out a sigh. ' _So this is Liore.'_ She thought, a half smile threatening to spread across her lips. ' _I was too careless. Now I don't know where anyone is.'_

There was a visible cut on her bottom lip and bruises could be seen on her face and arms. Though her clothing covered the majority of her injuries. Her red coat had now been transmuted back into a red cloak. It hung on her shoulders, moving slightly in the cool breeze.

Myra took a step forward, followed by another, trying to reach the town that never left her line of sight. She wiped her sweaty palms on her pants, only now realizing the exhaustion that swept over her. Her body was sore from the bruises she received from Envy and Gluttony a few days ago. A hospital was out of the question unless she wanted to wait around getting caught.

A rumour was heard that the Fullmetal Alchemist was missing. As much as that worried Myra, she had to keep telling herself that Ed is alright. That he'll _be_ alright. She never wanted to separate from him, but with the fight with Envy and Gluttony and the explosion afterwards, not to mention how she's currently being pursued by the homunculi, they were driven to separate. As for Al, Myra could only hope that he was safe along with Winry and the others. It felt like forever since she's seen him, but their problems keep getting bigger.

~Flashback~

A punch was aimed for her head, Myra caught it and threw one of her own, only to have Envy catch hers as well.

Gluttony was on the ground several metres away, trying to recover after being the centre of an explosion Myra created by using dynamite and a litre of gasoline she found in one of the warehouses. Envy was swift enough not to get drenched in the oily liquid, much less getting blown up by the dynamite afterwards.

A kick was delivered to Myra's stomach, but she ignored the pain as she tried to sweep Envy off his feet. He jumped up and used his acrobatic-worthy reflexes to create some distance between them.

"Do your precious brothers even know why you've been acting the way you are?" Envy sneered.

Myra's silence answered his question.

"Oh, don't tell me you didn't tell them! That's rich! I can't wait to see the look on their faces when they find out!" Envy laughed.

"Shut up!" Myra clapped her hands and slammed them to the ground, creating a gaping hole around Envy, but he jumped several metres back to avoid falling.

"You don't have to worry about them right now. Today, we came for _you_." Myra didn't bother to respond. Instead, she used her alchemy to destroy the ground from underneath Envy, but that didn't work as he once again jumped to avoid getting caught. That, however, put Envy right where Myra wanted him to be, directly in front of her with Gluttony standing behind her.

Gluttony shot his tongue out, but when Myra jumped off to the side at the last second, it almost wrapped itself around Envy.

"Watch it! I don't want to get swallowed by you again!" As Envy yelled at a shameful looking Gluttony, Myra took the opportunity to send large amounts of concrete, in the shape of fists, hurling into the sides of their heads. Just as she was about to begin her next attack, an explosion from afar caught everyone's attention.

"Sounds like Kimblee's having his own fun." Envy mocked.

 _'Ed!'_ Myra thought, worry clouding her vision. Without thinking, she started heading in his direction, but was stopped by Gluttony appearing in front of her.

"Nope! You have to stay here with us!" He said in his child-like voice.

"That's right. We're not finished until we personally hand you over to Father!" Envy shouted as he advanced in another attack.

~End of flashback~

They kept leading her further and further away from Ed, Miles and the others. In the end, she was able to escape when her injuries got the best of her. It took a few days to get them off her trail, but it was only a matter of time before they found her again.

Myra put a hand on her left side. She winced as she remembered how Envy gave her the gash on her side, barely avoiding a more fatal blow. The gash was wrapped in cloth from her cloak, the blood threatening to seep through her shirt as it did the cloth.

It seemed like Myra had been walking for hours when only it must have been a few minutes since she first laid eyes upon Liore. She was almost there. She can make it.

One step.

 _'Me. Why did they come after me?'_

Another step and her eyes seemed to droop.

 _'They tried to make us into human weapons. Now, they want me to be a sacrifice along with my brothers. Will I cause problems for them by using the freedom I was just given back? Is that why Father sent Envy and Gluttony after me? They know I only have until after the Promised day.'_

With a hand still on her side, she took another step, but the exhaustion was too much and Myra soon blacked out.


	19. Myra Performs Human Transmutation part 1

"So, everyone knows the plan, right?" Drew asked the group.

Everyone nodded.

"I can't believe that after tonight we'll finally be free!" Ava smiled at the thought.

"As long as everything goes according to plan." Drew said hopefully.

"How long have we even been down here?" Myra asked curiously.

"I lost count after six months, but I bet it's almost been a year." Oscar said.

"Only a year?!" Ava gasped.

"Shh!" Oscar shushed her. "You don't want anyone to hear us!"

"Sorry!" She whispered sheepishly.

The four young teenagers were huddled in a circle in a small space they secretly created with alchemy to discuss their plan of escape. Normally, creating their little hideout would be no small feat, but with Oscar's exceptional alchemical abilities, it was made possible.

They had done this several times before to meet up when they needed someone to talk to or to continue working on their plan.

"Make sure no one dies tonight." Drew told them. "We lost too many already." His eyes were solemn and the others looked away sadly as well, remembering all the others who did not make it.

Myra traced a faded scar on her arm with her right hand. Her body was covered with bruises and faded wounds. But she wasn't the only one. Drew, Oscar and Ava all had scars of their own. Scars that reminded them of the individual pain they each had to endure. Some will fade over time, while some will stay as a reminder of their pain forever. Physically or psychologically.

The clothes on their backs were thin and worn. It never provided warmth in the cold underground. They were prisoners in this dark prison.

A warm hand covering her smaller one suddenly dragged Myra away from her thoughts. "You ok, My?" Drew asked, concern laced in his electric blue orbs.

Myra looked up, realizing that Oscar and Ava were also staring at her with similar concern.

These are her friends. Despite all of the hardships they each faced, Myra made three important friends who became a big part of her life. If only they had met under different circumstances.

"Sorry, guys." Her demeanor suddenly changing to a determined one. "I guess I'm just excited to get out of here." Oscar smirked while Drew and Ava mirrored her determined expression with smiles of their own.

"Ok, so despite our cells, this room is the only place we can go freely without the homunculi knowing. This whole place is under lockdown and we need to get to the surface and escape without being detected." Oscar began, getting down to business.

"And they used a Philosopher's Stone to ensure that we couldn't use alchemy to escape." Ava continued.

Despite a Philosopher's Stone preventing the use of alchemy to escape the walls that encased them, the four teens had discovered a flaw. Drew had found a small "soft" spot in the ground where the Philosopher's Stone didn't quite cover. The stone was constantly being used to secure a large area underground, there was bound to be a weak spot. Through a great amount of care, the four teens managed to dig further underground, always making sure to cover the entrance to the hole without getting caught. For months they dug further underground and then changed the direction of the tunnel until they were finally out of the Philosopher's Stone's territory. They had discovered a sewer and they were going to use that as their escape route. Each night they only had a limited amount of time before someone came to check on them in their cells.

"Right." Myra nodded. "So once we make it to the edge of the tunnel, Ava and I will create an exit from the tunnel and into the sewer using our alchemy, while Drew and Oscar take the precautions to make sure it's safe and we're not walking into a trap of some kind."

"Alright," Drew said. "It's been about 7 minutes since we were checked on. We have 53 minutes until they come again so we need to be above ground and safe before then. They're bound to come looking for us once they realize we're gone."

The four were stealthy and quick, making their way through the tunnel and sealing it's entrance as they've done many times before to prevent any alarms.

It took them 28 minutes to reach the edge of the tunnel. Myra and Ava looked at each other and nodded while Drew and Oscar watched their backs.

The two females pulled out small pieces of chalk hidden in their clothes. Drawing a transmutation circle on the wall to the sewer, they activated the circle. The second the wall came down, Drew and Oscar moved ahead to survey the area.

Their bare feet splashed in the shallow sewer water as the boys confirmed that it was safe.

The four began walking down the sewers. The only sound was the echo of their feet trudging through the mucky waters. Despite attempting to act calm, each of them were itching with nervousness. It had been a whole year since any of them had inhaled fresh air, felt the sun on their skin or the cool wind in their hair. It might have only been a year, but a year of torture and training underground caused these simple memories of security to fade. They missed the warmth of a comfortable bed, the satisfaction of eating a full meal and all the friendly people they passed on the streets. But most of all, they missed their family and friends and all the memories they cherished with them. To them, one year felt like an eternity.

"How much time do we have until someone checks on us?" Ava asked, trying to rid the torturous silence.

"About 19 minutes." Drew replied.

"We need to hurry and get out of here." Myra said.

Ava opened her mouth to say something else, but was cut off when an explosion went off behind them.

The four teenagers spun around to meet eyes with Envy and Lust.

"Well, well, Father is going to be pretty mad to find out you four escaped. Why don't you come back and we _might_ overlook this." Lust snarled. Despite her bargain, the evil glint in her eyes meant that no one would walk away unharmed if they were to go back.

"You four have some nerve!" Envy yelled. "After all the hospitality we gave, you decide to—"

"Shut up!" Oscar yelled, already in a battle ready position.

"We're done being your useless toys." Drew glared. He had a piece of chalk in hand and Myra realized he had drawn a transmutation circle on the wall when Lust and Envy were talking.

"Why you—!" But Envy didn't get to finish his sentence before Drew activated the circle, caving in the wall to separate the two groups.

"Run!" He told them.

They wasted no time running further down the sewer, water splashing in various directions.

They heard a noise behind them and Myra stopped to draw another circle on the concrete wall. She created a wall to separate the two groups once more in order to give them more time to find an exit.

"That's not going to hold them for long!" She told them.

Drew gritted his teeth. _'How did they know?! We should've had more time!'_

"They had suspicions that we were up to something." Myra said while they ran, her gaze focusing on the path in front of her.

"That's why we didn't have enough time." Ava concluded.

Drew looked ahead and spotted a latter to the surface. "Quick!" He pointed to the latter. "We need to get to the surface!"

The next few moments happened in a blur. Lust and Envy caught up to them. There were several transmutation circles activated as a short battle proceeded. Myra didn't know what happened, but the walls began caving in from every direction. Probably a result from a large amount of alchemy being used in a confined space. Myra yelled at Oscar and Ava to get to the latter. Drew was engaged in a battle with Envy and didn't have time to move. Myra ran and pushed him out of the way in time.

Everyone was completely separated.


	20. Myra Performs Human Transmutation part 2

"Are you ok?" Myra asked Drew as she got up from the sewer's ground.

Drew slowly sat up. A trickle of blood ran down the side of his face. "I'm fine." He said.

"No you're not." Myra said. "You're bleeding." She reached her hand to gently touch his face to get a better look at the wound.

Drew's face flushed and he backed up a bit. "I-I'm fine! Don't worry about it." He stuttered. "It's just a scratch." He said confidently.

Myra sighed. "You're lucky the cut isn't deep."

"A-Anyways, we should probably find another way out of here before Envy or Lust finds us." Drew said, standing up.

"Do you think Oscar and Ava made it out alright?" Myra asked, voice filled with concern.

Drew's eyes softened. "I'm sure they did... I just hope Lust and Envy don't get to them."

Myra nodded. She wiped her sweaty palms on her pants, feeling concern and nervousness for all of their safety.

"Let's keep walking until we find another way out." she said.

The two walked through the sewers for a while. Not much conversation was exchanged as it usually would under normal circumstances. Neither were very tired, but this plan can mean life or death for all of them depending on how everything plays out. They were anxious and stressed.

"Another latter." Drew said, a hint of relief in his tone.

Myra and Drew exchanged glances before jogging up to the latter.

Myra went first, pushing the lid off the top and hopping out of the sewer. Drew followed suit.

Myra took in her surroundings. They looked to be in an abandoned factory with not much to look at but old and dusty equipment that looked like it hadn't been used in years. A large window near the ceiling of the factory was the only source of light and told them it was night.

Myra gazed out the window, mesmerized by the stars glistening in the sky.

"It's been a whole year since we've been above ground." Drew whispered, his gaze also lingering on the stars. His gaze then moved to the golden haired girl beside him. Her eyes sparkled in the reflection of the stars and moonlight. Her mesmerized gaze only brought more light to her golden orbs.

"C'mon," Drew urged. "You can see the stars better from outside." He smiled.

Myra looked at him and smiled. "My brothers are out there... somewhere. Probably back in our hometown. Your sister is out there too."

Drew didn't say anything, but instead found it difficult to hold their gaze with an expression that was hard to read.

"Let's go!" Myra said excitedly, slightly tugging on Drew's sleeve to get him to move.

Drew followed, and for a moment, he let his guard drop. They weren't underground anymore, they weren't in any current danger and the atmosphere made both teens feel content... but only for a moment.

A sharp claw extended in between the two causing both teens to jump back to avoid being slashed.

As the claw retracted, their gazes followed it back to see Lust.

"The other two might have managed to give us the slip, but I can assure you that you two won't be so lucky!" Lust yelled in frustration.

Myra tried to stop her shaking hands as she got into a battle ready position. Her feet were damp and cold from the sewer's waters. They were stinging from the icky water making contact with the scars on her feet; scars obtained from brutal training and unpleasant conditions underground. She looked over at Drew who had his teeth grit and fists clenched as he also stood in a battle ready stance. His eyes showed determination on the surface, but Myra saw through him.

They were both scared. And they were _so_ close to being free from the torture they've endured for a whole year.

Seconds later, pieces of chalk were pulled out and alchemy clashed. Swift movements and sharp claws were thrown about.

The battle was short, but to Drew and Myra, it felt like it dragged on for hours.

At one point, Myra lost her small piece of chalk and Drew obtained a slash on his midsection. They felt tired, weak, cold and their limbs ached. A year of torture to the night of their escape; everything has taken a toll on their bodies.

A claw aimed for her legs and Myra just barely jumped to avoid getting caught. She twisted her body in the air to avoid a second claw, but a third smacked her in the head. Myra fell to the ground.

"Myra!" Drew yelled.

Myra moaned through the pain that she currently felt. She tried to open her eyes, but her eyelids felt heavy and her thoughts were fuzzy.

Then suddenly, a sound caused Myra's mind to go blank. Her heart began racing in fear and she forced her eyelids open only to gasp in fear at the sight in front of her. The sound of a weapon spearing through a body and blood falling to the ground was deafening.

Despite the pain in her body, Myra ignored it. She forced herself off the ground in time to catch Drew before his head could hit the concrete floor.

His blood was all over her hands and arms. Myra couldn't stop her shaking as tears quickly formed in her eyes.

"You didn't have to do that!" She yelled. "The four of us were supposed to make it out _safely_ and _together_!"

Drew placed a hand on top of hers in an attempt to stop her shaking. "You have to live, Myra. For Ava and Oscar. Your brothers too."

"What about you?!" Myra refused to accept what was happening. Lust's claw went right through a vital spot. She knew they couldn't save him. She's seen it before to some of the unfortunate souls who died before they could escape with them. The ones who were never allowed to leave alive.

"You have a little sister back in Dublith! You have to make it back to her! I won't let you abandon her!" Myra knew her words were contradicting what she knew was inevitable, but she didn't care.

"My... there's something I never told you." His voice sounded raspy and strained.

"Why is that important now?!"

"Because... when I was taken by the homonculi... they killed her in order to get to me." Drew coughed up blood before taking a sharp intake of air. "My sister is... dead."

Myra's eyes widened. "W-What?"

"I'm sorry... I could n-never tell y-you—" Drew stopped to cough again.

"Don't talk anymore, you'll hurt yourself further." Myra's eyes were filled to the brim with worry, but Drew forged on.

"I don't have anyone to go back to... but you do. Please," his eyes were begging and its something Myra had never seen in him before. It was odd, really. In the place that they were for a year, Myra has seen everyone at their worst. She's seen them break down and cry. But she always found it strange how she never saw Drew break down, though she secretly knew of the nights that he cried himself to sleep. Physical, mental or emotional. Sometimes the pain was too much.

Tears spilled down his cheeks and Myra's heart couldn't take anymore. "Please," he pleaded. "live."

That was enough to make all of her held back tears finally stream down her face. "And don't cry." He urged, his voice continuously growing weaker and quieter.

His hand reached up shakily, wiping away her tears. Myra caressed his hand, not knowing what else to do.

It was in that moment that Drew's eyes began to close. His hand slipped out of Myra's grasp, leaving a trail of his blood where he had wiped her tears.

"No! Drew! Come on... we were supposed to make it out of here _alive_!" Myra sobbed. " _You_ were supposed to make it out alive!"

Her chest hurt and nothing else in the world seemed to matter. Nothing could stop the inevitable stream of tears as Myra sobbed. Drew Mendez, one of her best friends, was now dead. He was her rock in all the hard times, and in turn, she was his. Myra's body shook. To her, Drew always seemed... untouchable to something like death. As if nothing in this world could hinder him. He'd always continue living and being him. But now that was no longer possible. Nothing more can be done for Drew. He's dead.

A malicious laughter finally broke Myra out of her daze, causing her to cease her sobbing.

"What a shame," Lust said. "Two escaped and one is dead. But _you're_ still here. I can't let you escape."

Myra gently set Drew's body down, wiping away her tears. She stood up with her bangs creating a shadow over her face, her back facing Lust.

"I don't care anymore..." Myra whispered almost inaudibly.

"What was that?" Lust asked as if Myra had just threatened her.

"I don't care what you do to me anymore!" Myra now yelled, turning around to face Drew's killer. Her harsh tone would've caused any normal person to flinch, but Lust kept an emotionless expression.

"Oh? So you're angry about your friend?" Lust asked, taunting the girl.

Myra narrowed her eyes. Her plan was simple: She was going to defeat Lust, even if she lost her life doing so.

With her chalk long gone, Myra bit her thumb to draw blood for a transmutation circle.

She charged at Lust. An array of long black claws and the blue light from transmutation circles filled the room. Myra was fast and was able to avoid being injured further. She even managed to land a few blows on the homunculus.

Myra didn't process what she was doing. She didn't think about the consequences or the aftermath of the whole ordeal. She didn't think if she'd make it out alive or not. She was merely focused on defeating Lust.

Myra made a move that managed to temporarily trap Lust's claws by the raw materials left in the factory. She drew her blood in one swift movement and was about to end the battle.

Suddenly, something hard made contact with her back, causing Myra to fall to the ground.

Just as swiftly as she fell, she pushed herself back up to counter the next attack from her new opponent.

"You shouldn't count yourself lucky that your friends escaped!" Envy yelled angrily. His face was snarled and filled with frustration. "Because _you're_ gonna pay for it!"

Myra didn't say anything, only narrowed her eyes. With Lust's claws still subdued, she made to launch an attack at Envy.

Myra's movements were suddenly halted as she felt something grab her feet in mid-attack. Her eyes widened in shock when she saw the shadows encasing her feet.

"It's about time." Envy said, dropping his fighting stance. His face adopting a more nonchalant look.

"I was wondering when you'd get here," Lust's smooth voice echoed through the factory as she finally managed to free her claws, "Pride." An ever-growing smile forming on her lips.

"P-Pride?!" Myra was shocked as she traced the shadows around her ankles to its source, but it only led to a dark corner encased by even more shadows. Myra couldn't see his face.

She had never seen Pride before. He was hardly even mentioned.

"What are you planning to do to me?!" Myra asked.

"You'll see." Pride's voice said mockingly. His voice sounded like several people talking at once, making it difficult for Myra to pinpoint only one voice. "It's about time."

"Time for what?" Myra questioned. The silence that followed made Myra uncomfortable and she whipped her head in the direction of Drew's body.

Lust and Envy stood off to the side, but what caught Myra's attention was a shadow slowly moving towards Drew's body.

Myra struggled against the shadows around her feet, but to no avail.

"Don't touch him!" Myra yelled threateningly.

"He was an important friend to you, no?" Pride asked.

Myra only responded by glaring at the large mass of shadows.

"Well in that case..." Pride began.

"Ready when you are, Pride." Envy smirked from the center of the room.

Myra turned to look at him. _'Is that a transmutation circle?!'_ Her eyes widened in horror.

Lust grabbed Myra just as Pride's shadows released her and threw her in the middle of the circle.

Myra bit her tongue to prevent her crying out when her back made harsh contact with the ground. But she couldn't relax just yet. Just as her back made contact with the ground, Envy jabbed a metal rod into her right shoulder to keep her in place, no doubt from the debris. Myra let out a strangled cry.

"You lost your friend there," Pride said menacingly. "Now you're going to try to bring him back!"

"No!" Came Myra's strained voice. She could feel the warm blood spill onto her arm as she used her left arm to try to remove the rod. Unfortunately, she had little strength left. "Not... human transmutation! I won't do it!" Myra cried.

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice, Myra Elric. You never did."

She couldn't see him, but Pride's voice almost made it sound like he was smiling. She could just imagine the smug looks on Envy and Lust's faces as they watched the whole ordeal.

Myra took one glance at Drew's body behind her, before everything went white.

That's when she met Truth. That's when Truth showed her a taste of knowledge she didn't even think imaginable. That's when Myra paid her toll and her hearing was taken away.

A harsh light shone through her closed eyelids, forcing her to slowly open them. She opened them to be met with a pair of soft chocolate brown eyes belonging to a familiar redhead and a dark haired male seated on her other side. Both wore expressions of deep sadness and concern. But when Myra's eyes opened, they turned into ones with relieved smiles.

Myra's expression lacked any emotion. No emotion was evident on her face nor in her eyes. She felt an immense pain in her heart. She felt broken.

Myra tried to sit up, but was forced to acknowledge the pain in her shoulder. She felt bandages covering the wound, but didn't think much of it.

That's when Myra noticed that Ava's already red and puffy eyes, suddenly filled with more tears as she wrapped her arms around Myra's neck, while being mindful of her wound.

Myra didn't move her arms to hug her friend back. She just sat there.

Her gaze went to Oscar and her eyes suddenly widened. Ava pulled back and that's when Myra realized. Their lips were moving, but she couldn't hear a thing. Not the voices of her friends, not the birds' chirps in the sky and not the leaves as the wind rustled through the trees.

She tried to read their lips, but was having difficulty with her mind still hazy. But there were two words that she managed to make out from Oscar. _"Where's Drew?"_

Myra couldn't hear herself when she spoke, but she knew she uttered the words, _"He's dead,"_ as tears once again strolled down her cheeks.

Oscar and Ava took Myra to a doctor where each of their injuries were treated. The doctor had given her hearing aids and then the three survivors were left on their own.

Each struggled to move on in their own ways. So, the three split up. Myra went to Rush Valley after falling into a depression shortly after the incident. She spent a year in Rush Valley before moving to Central. She didn't have the interest in travelling around. Her time in Rush Valley helped her to overcome her main obstacles, but Myra was still depressed by the time she moved to Central. She never went back to Resembool, despite how much she wanted to, in fear that the homunculi would track her there. So instead, she hid in more populated cities.

Shortly after arriving in Central, the military somehow found out about her and offered Myra a chance to take the State alchemist test. Ultimately, she refused. General Hughes took her in at the time, and by spending time with him and his family, they managed to help Myra out of her depression.

She never told Gracia, but Maes was told about what Myra had been through and he helped her through it.

Two years after living in Central, Myra, Ava and Oscar were brought back together for the first time since the incident by King Bradley. They were brought back for the first time in three years.

The idea of the Cloaked Alchemists was proposed and at first, all three denied the idea. Then, Bradley threatened each of them and each were forced to participate in being a part of the Cloaked Alchemists.

Myra joined the Cloaked Alchemists to secure Ed and Al's safety.

Over a year later, and the three Elrics were reunited.


	21. New Faces and Familiar Faces

A cool breeze hit her face, causing Myra to stir. She slowly fluttered her eyes open, but soon flinched at the harsh light. When her eyes adjusted, she opened them again, taking in her surroundings.

Myra slowly sat up, realizing that she was in a bed located in a small room. The room had a dresser on the opposite side of the room as well as a small table and chair in the middle. The window was opened slightly allowing a soft breeze to slowly blow the thin curtains back and forth. It didn't bother Myra, however, she found the breeze to be quite soothing.

Myra's light mood soon vanished when memories of recent events suddenly rushed to mind. Myra's hand immediately went to her left side only to not feel a sudden jolt of pain. She lifted her shirt to see the bandages covering her stomach, as well as noticing the ones on her arms and legs.

Noticing something was off, Myra's head turned left and right before she noticed her hearing aids on the night table beside her.

She reached for them and placed them in her ears. Once the settings were properly adjusted, she noticed the sounds of hammer hitting wood and happy chattering coming from the open window. She found the idle chatter and laughter to be quite calming and she smiled in content.

Looking out the window, Myra concluded that she was in Liore. By the sun's position she deemed it to be late morning. Not knowing who brought her here peaked her curiosity as she removed the blanket, trying to get off the bed, but it proved to be a difficult task due to her sore muscles.

A gasp from the doorway alerted Myra's attention as she looked up to meet the eyes of a girl with dark brown hair. Her bangs were dyed pink and she had purple eyes.

"You shouldn't strain your body!" The girl said worriedly as she rushed to Myra's side.

"Thank you, but I'll be fine." Myra gave a gentle smile as she resorted to sitting on the bed instead of standing. "You did this, didn't you?" Myra pointed to her bandages. "Thank you."

The girl shook her head, "No it's not a problem. Someone from town found you just outside Liore and I volunteered to take care of you. A bunch of the townspeople and I were worried."

"You were? But you don't even know me." Although Myra was grateful for their hospitality, she was confused as to why the townspeople were worrying about a stranger.

"Well you were injured pretty badly and that's not something we see everyday." The girl smiled.

"How long was I unconscious?" Myra asked.

"You were unconscious for about two days since we found you." She replied.

Myra tried to stand up again, but winced. The girl gently held her elbow, helping Myra to regain her balance. Myra smiled in thanks.

"If you're feeling up to it, a hot bath might help ease your sore muscles." The girl suggested.

Myra was about to accept her offer but hesitated, "I'd hate to be a bother anymore than I already have."

"No not at all!" The girl quickly stopped Myra's protests, already gently leading her towards the bathroom. "You've been badly injured and I want to do what I can to help. Please let me help."

Myra couldn't bring herself to protest any longer and accepted the girl's offer. The girl led Myra into the bathroom as she began to run hot water into the tub.

"I didn't get your name," Myra spoke up from behind the girl.

The girl gasped slightly, "This must all be weird for you: waking up in a bed in another town. I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself earlier." The girl, satisfied with the water level and temperature, stood up and faced Myra, "My name is Rosé Thomas." She smiled.

"Nice to meet you, Rosé. I'm Myra—"

"Hey Rosé! It's almost lunch time we're going to need your help!" A voice called from the open window, abruptly cutting off Myra's introduction.

"I'll be right down!" Rosé called back. She sent Myra an apologetic look. "Sorry about that. Our town is being rebuilt so I help out by doing whatever I can for the workers. We can talk more when you're finished. You can put your clothes in here so I can wash them," Rosé pointed to an empty basket on the floor, "And I'll leave a towel and fresh pair of clothes for you there." She gestured to the counter. "Are you sure you'll be ok? If you need anything I'm not too far away."

"Thank you, Rosé. I'll be fine there's no need to worry." Myra said, not wanting to cause her any more trouble. Rosé smiled before turning to leave, closing the bathroom door on her way out.

Around half an hour later, Myra stepped out of the bathroom wearing black shorts and a red hoodie. Her just dried hair was left open as she noticed her black combat boots at the foot of the bed she woke up in. Myra walked over to them and placed them on her bare feet. The bath was painful at first, but soon the warm water seemed to ease her sore muscles, so they didn't seem to hurt as much now.

There was a knock at the door as Myra finished putting on her boots. "Come in," she said, standing up.

Rosé entered with a tray of tea, "Good, I'm glad they fit. I tried to find clothes similar to what you were wearing." She said as she set the tray down on the table. "How are your injuries?"

"Most of the bruises are just scratches now. And I used the bandages you left to put some new ones on my side," Myra lifted her hoodie slightly to reveal clean bandages.

"Does it still hurt?" Rosé asked as she began pouring tea, gesturing to the seat opposite her. Myra obliged, sitting down at the table

"It still hurts when I move around too much, but it'll heal in time."

"I'm glad to hear it. When you were still unconscious the doctor said that none of your injuries are too bad and that you'll be healed in no time."

Rosé set a teacup in front of Myra who hesitated before saying, "Thank you, Rosé. For everything."

Rosé, now seated across from Myra with her own cup of tea in her hands, shook her head with a smile on her face. "I told you before Myra, it's not a problem. I'm happy to help!"

Myra smiled gratefully. "I never got to finish introducing myself before," She said with a sheepish smile. "I'm Myra Elric."

Rosé's teacup was halfway to her lips when she quickly set it down, the tea almost spilling out of the cup in her haste. "Did you say _Elric?_ Do you by any chance know Edward and Alphonse Elric?"

"Yeah, they're my little brothers." Myra answered, curious as to what Rosé was getting at.

Rosé gasped before a smile spread across her lips. "I knew you looked like Ed!"

"Wow! I heard what Ed and Al did in Liore, but I had no idea they affected people that much." Myra spoke, proud of her brothers' accomplishments in Liore. The empty teacups have long been abandoned as empty bowls of soup now sat in front of them.

Rosé nodded. "They opened our eyes to the truth and now we're learning to stand on our own; me and everyone else in Liore." Rosé spoke fondly of them.

"They were pretty worried and felt guilty after hearing about the chaos that occurred after they left. But I'm glad to know that they changed Liore for the better, and I know they'll be happy when they hear about it." Myra smiled.

A comfortable silence was shared between the two before Rosé started to gather the dishes. Myra began to help, but was immediately scolded.

"You're still injured! I don't want you hurting yourself anymore!"

"As long as I don't try to lift anything too heavy I'm not going to hurt myself." Myra assured with a smile.

Rosé sighed, complying in allowing Myra to carry a few dishes downstairs. "You know, you don't just look like Ed, you can be stubborn like him too."

Myra giggled as she followed Rosé into the kitchen, "I get that a lot."

"But you're also kind, like Al."

Myra smiled. Those were main traits that Trisha used to associate with the three siblings; calling Ed stubborn like his sister and telling Al that he was as kind as her.

"If you're feeling up to it I can introduce you to some of the townspeople." Myra was about to accept but Rosé continued, "Actually, there is one person in particular who came into town yesterday. He seemed pretty worried after hearing about you. Maybe you know him?"

Myra thought as to who the person might be, but came up blank. There was no way Ed or Al could be in Liore at this time and Oscar was off with Ava. "I'd like to meet him if that's ok."

"Yeah, no problem." Rosé said as she began to lead the way.

Myra was introduced to a few of the townspeople as most were busy contributing their part to help rebuild the town. They all seemed so kind and friendly. Myra decided to stay in Liore until her injuries are completely healed. She also decided that working alongside Rosé would be the least she could do to repay the girl for helping her.

So, Myra stood behind the counter that people usually lined up at for food. She was cleaning dishes until they sparkled. Rosé, who didn't want Myra to injure herself further, prevented her from helping with construction for now.

The golden haired female smiled proudly as the light illuminating off the stainless steel pot in front of her allowed it to sparkle.

She gathered the nearby pots and utensils that were sparkling just as much, "Well, Rosé, they're as clean as they get! Where do you want me to put them?" Myra asked.

Rosé, who was cleaning the counter behind her, turned around, smiling at Myra's work, "I can take it from here if you don't mind finishing wiping the counter."

"No problem," Myra said switching places with Rose with a smile.

Myra's back was turned when she heard footsteps approaching. She heard Rosé begin to speak, "Oh! There you are." Rosé then turned to Myra, "Myra?"

"Hmm?" She hummed a reply as she wrung the cloth she was using and was hanging it up to dry.

The footsteps then came to a stop as a voice spoke, "Do you have some work for me, Rosé?"

Myra held in a gasp. ' _It can't be... there's no way...'_ That voice that Myra hasn't heard in 10 years seemed to stick out like a sore thumb. It was unmistakable and Myra's breath caught in her throat. Time seemed to slow down as the only thing she was aware of at that moment was her breathing, Rosé's presence and the voice of the person who had just approached.

Myra's mind was racing with thoughts, but she didn't hesitate to turn around, only to widen her eyes as she came face to face with the man she used to question if she would ever see again.

His eyes were unreadable as they were hidden behind his glasses, but Myra would always be able to easily recognize his features.

In barely a whisper, she managed to say, "D-Dad?"


	22. Where Have You Been?

They stood awkwardly. Myra had a blank look on her face as she was left not knowing what to say. Hohenheim's eyes were hidden behind his glasses making it difficult for Myra to read his emotions. But judging by how his lips were pressed in a thin line and his eyebrows weren't creased, she guessed his eyes mirrored her blank expression. He was wearing a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up under a black vest. He also wore matching slacks and an orange bandana tied over his head.

Rosé stared back and forth between the two awkwardly. Sensing the tension in the air, Rosé quietly excused herself to allow them to talk.

"Myra, it's been a while." Hohenheim said, stating the obvious.

"Yeah... it has." Myra responded, not knowing how to form her thoughts into words.

The tension that hung in there was suffocating and despite already being outside, Myra thought she needed some air.

"I saw Pinako recently. She told me what happened in the years I've been gone." He tried to get the conversation going.

"Where... Where have you been all this time?! Why did you leave? Why are you here now?!" Myra suddenly asked several questions at once. Her emotions were suddenly in a haze and all she could do was ask the questions that have been plaguing her mind for years.

"We should find a better place to talk." Hohenheim said in a quieter voice, glancing at all the people around them.

Myra hesitated before nodding, following Hohenheim to an area away from the workers and other townspeople.

When they were alone, Myra spoke immediately. "Why did you leave Ed, Al, Mom and I?" Her expression made her look composed, but her voice was demanding as she was impatient to get a proper answer.

Hohenheim stared at his now 18-year old daughter in nostalgia. He hasn't seen her since she was 8-years old and not even half his height. Now she was up to his shoulders.

He sighed, "I'll tell you everything I know."

And that's what he did. He told her the truth about himself and his involvement with the homunculi father, or as Hohenheim knew him, the dwarf in the flask.

Myra listened to every word intently. They were now sitting on large bags of cement across from each other. She didn't realize when her gaze shifted to her feet.

"Are you ok?" Hohenheim asked causing Myra's head to snap up.

Her father was previously a slave and now a living Philosopher's Stone. "Yeah, I'm fine... it's just a lot to process."

"You don't have to believe what I say." Hohenheim said, not really expecting Myra to believe him.

"Call me crazy, but I _do_ believe you." She said while looking at him.

"Really?" He asked in disbelief.

"I can't really explain it, but I believe you." Myra's mind slowly trailed off to her own misfortunes with the homunculi.

"Now, if you don't mind, would you tell me your story?"

"Huh?" Myra was taken aback by his request.

"Pinako told me that you went missing and was presumed dead for quite some time. Mind telling me the whole story? Also, I want to know why you need hearing aids now."

How did he know she had hearing aids? She was sure her hair covered her ears the entire time.

Myra lightly touched her ear. She was hesitant at first, but slowly nodded. Her hands fell gently into her lap. Taking a breath, she told him exactly what she told Ed and Al. About the homunculi, human transmutation, the Cloaked Alchemists and everything in between.

When she finished telling her story, Myra looked up to see her father's hands clenched.

He didn't say anything and his gaze didn't meet hers. She was about to speak up when Hohenheim suddenly stood up.

The next thing Myra knew, she was being engulfed in a hug.

Her body went stiff, but Hohenheim's voice was sincere when he spoke, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry you had to go through all of that, Myra. If I didn't leave back then, things might have been different. I'm sorry. But even so, I'm glad you found your way back to Ed and Al."

She felt awkward in her current position. She hasn't felt her father's love or embrace in so long that it's almost foreign to her right now. Hughes acted as a surrogate father to her for some time, but even that couldn't compare to a biological father.

"You knew who I was when I was brought into Liore." Myra said.

"Even if it's been 10 years, I can't forget my own daughter." He said as he hugged tighter.

Any hostility Myra was feeling seemed to slowly vanish as she slowly returned her father's embrace.

"When Pinako told me what happened, I knew you were still alive. You're strong. So I believed that you were still alive." He spoke with sincerity in his voice.

"Thanks... Dad." Myra said softly.

Hohenheim felt happy. His daughter seemed to forgive him, putting him slightly at ease. But would his sons be as forgiving? They were younger than Myra was when he left, after all. They probably remembered less about him than she did.

They pulled apart and Myra spoke in a more serious tone, "We should do something to get ahead of Father before the circle gets completed."

"For all we know, the circle might already be completed." Hohenheim began, mirroring her tone.

"What? Then why—?"

"Because, my doppelganger in Central is waiting for the Promised Day."

"The Promised Day? And when is that?"

Hohenheim's eyes grew serious as he said, "Sometime in Spring."

"I need to relay this message to all military command headquarters. Then I'll—" Myra winced in pain when she tried to stand up, placing a hand on her bandages.

Hohenheim helped her stand up properly. "You should at least stay in Liore and take it easy until your wounds heal."

Myra opened her mouth to protest, but Hohenheim spoke again, "I don't want to argue about it. What's going to happen if you manage to hurt yourself further? Your going to be needed to help prepare for that day. For now, just make sure the military headquarters receive the message." He told her.

Myra nodded, but as she began to leave to do just that, Hohenheim called out to her. "Myra,"

"Yeah?" She turned around to face him.

"You left something out of your story." Myra couldn't depict the emotions in his eyes.

"I did?" She asked.

"You never completely escaped from the homunculi's clutches, did you?"

Myra looked down solemnly. There was no point in lying. "No, I didn't."

"...How long do you have to live?" He dreaded the answer.

"I'll be around for the Promised Day. I'm not sure how much longer I have after that." She answered truthfully.

"I'm guessing your brothers don't know."

Myra looked away, feeling the guilt building inside her. "...No, not yet."


	23. A Visit From The Past

It was nearing the Promised Day and Myra was on her way to Central. She had planned on staying in Liore until her wounds healed, but later decided to stay a few day longer to help with construction as a small way to repay the villagers for their kindness.

A few military troops needed help coming up with plans for the Promised Day, so Myra had volunteered to help out after leaving Liore.

She and Hohenheim decided to meet up again in Central. Myra hoped that Ed would get to meet him there, since she got word that Al met him while he was still in Liore.

Right now, Hohenheim is also supposed to be on his way to Central, but Myra is expected to get there first. She is unsure where Al went after he left Liore.

Myra suddenly felt a sharp pain in her chest. She gasped and clenched the fabric of her shirt by her heart as she fell to her knees, coughing.

"Well it looks like you've saved me the trouble of having to capture you." A voice said mockingly in front of her.

Myra looked up and glared at the person she saw. Pride.

"What..." She coughed, "...do you want?" She said coldly.

"Father wants to keep an eye on you until the Promised Day. He was concerned that you might try to interfere with our plans, but judging by your condition I don't think you pose that big of a threat right now." His usual evil smile etched onto his face.

"If I can't do it, then they will." Myra said weakly. Her voice was strained and she struggled to speak. "Ed and Al will stop you _and_ that man below Central!"

She tried to stand up through sheer will, her golden eyes burning with determination.

Pride's smile dropped. His face becoming emotionless as he said, "Maybe I was wrong. You _would_ become a problem."

That was the last thing he said before one of his shadow arms extended behind Myra as it sharply hit the back of her neck. Without getting a chance to fight, Myra collapsed to the ground unconscious.

 _"Myra! Myra come quick, it's Mom!"_

 _The sound of Ed's panicked voice caused worry to build inside Myra as she quickly ran into the house._

 _"What's going o—" Myra cut herself off when she reached the doorway. Her eyes widened at seeing her mother's collapsed form on the ground. "Mom? Mom!" Myra desperately cried for her mother as she crouched next to her._

 _"Myra, what's happening to Mom?" Al asked with a scared and frantic tone, sitting beside her._

 _"Ed, Al, stay with Mom. I'm going to get Granny!" Myra tried to keep herself composed as she ran as fast as she could to get Pinako._

 _"Myra, dear, I want you to take care of them for me." Trisha said as if it was the most casual thing in the world. She had a warm smile on her face as she spoke to her daughter. Despite being bedridden, Trisha still smiled for her kids every second she saw them._

 _"No! I need you here to help me, Mom. I d-don't know what to do. I don't want to be alone!" Myra's eyes were filled with tears as a few managed to escape._

 _"You won't be alone. Granny Pinako will be right here, and I'll always be with you. Now be strong for me and your brothers, ok?" Trisha said gently, wiping away Myra's fallen tears._

 _Myra sniffled, trying to compose herself. "I'll protect them, Mom. I promise to protect Ed and Al."_

 _Trisha's eyes softened, "Thank you, Myra. I'm so glad to have a daughter as kind-hearted as you are." She smiled warmly, fighting the urge to cry in front of her daughter._

 _Two Elrics sat in front of their mother's grave. Their faces solemn, as if by waiting in front of her grave she would come back. They had cried out most of their tears, leaving room only for sorrow and despair._

 _They heard soft footsteps approaching, but didn't turn around, knowing exactly who it was._

 _"Ed? Al?" Myra's voice was soft as she spoke to them. "I made stew for dinner tonight. Come and eat while it's still hot."_

 _They both looked up at her with eyes they used to look at their mother with. Myra felt her throat tightening._

 _"Ok," Al said before standing up._

 _Ed, however, stayed sitting. His golden eyes were curious as they stared at his sister. Myra had been pretty composed ever since their mother's funeral. Almost like it didn't faze her as much as it did he and Al. Instead of mourning with them, Myra stepped up and took on so much responsibility._

 _It confused Edward until one night when she had tucked himself and Al into bed. Ed had gotten up to use the bathroom. He had heard a noise coming from Myra's room and as he got closer, he realized she was crying. It was then that he realized that she was suffering just as much as them._

 _Ed wasn't angry at Myra. If anything, he was worried for her._

 _"You coming, Ed?" She held out a hand to him._

 _"Yeah, I'm coming." He took her hand and she smiled as she helped him up._

 _The three smiled contently as they went to eat their stew._

Slowly, Myra lifted her eyelids. She blinked away the drowsiness threatening to cloud her vision as she tried to take in her surroundings.

She was in a slouched position, leaning against the wall behind her. Her hands were above her, each one with its own casing so she couldn't use alchemy. The room was big, dark and empty.

Myra tried to sit up properly to try to figure out a way to break the casings around her hands and wrists. Thankfully they didn't take her hearing aids.

When she suddenly slumped back against the wall, Myra's eyes widened. Her body felt like lead, like it was so much heavier to move. Her mind was in a haze and she was growing weaker. She was losing her stamina. It was only a matter of time.

Pride brought her here. Myra knew that. Father doesn't want her to interfere.

He knows very well about her condition. She would last until the Promised Day, but how long after that? A few months? A couple weeks? A day?

Myra took deep breaths to calm her mind. There wasn't much she could do now but to reserve the little energy she has left and hope that Ed, Al, Winry, Mustang and everyone else were doing alright.

 _'Ed, Al... please be safe...'_


	24. The Truth Comes Out

Ed stood up from the campfire, fuming, only agreeing to fight alongside Hohenheim to defeat the homunculi Father.

He turned his back to the others and was in the middle of storming off when Hohenheim's voice called him back.

"Edward," His voice was serious, but contained a hint of sadness. He spoke his son's name so quietly that if Ed didn't recognize his own name, he wouldn't have heard it.

"What?!" Ed snapped, stopping in his tracks. He didn't even bother to turn his head around.

"There's something Myra never told you."

An eerie silence fell amongst the group as they listened to every word spoken in pure curiosity.

"What are you talking about?" Ed asked, his curiosity also peaked. He turned his head to look at Hohenheim. "She told us her story."

"She didn't want to hurt you or Al. So in the end, she just couldn't say it."

"What are you—"

"Haven't you noticed anything strange about her?" Hohenheim stood up as well. "Stopping in the middle of a battle due to sudden pains? Dismissing it as something trivial? Lower stamina?"

Ed whipped his body around to now fully face his father. "What are you talking about? What don't we know about My?!"

"I told this to Alphonse already."

The fire illuminated every one of Ed's features as he impatiently waited for Hohenheim to continue. But for Hohenheim, the fire created shadows along his face. As if the shadows understood his position in this situation.

Hohenheim closed his eyes for a few moments, trying to find the right words to phrase what he needed to say, but only came up with, "She's dying, Ed."

A blunt response. Getting straight to the point.

"What are you talking about?! What happened to her?!" Ed fumed. "Did she get injured?"

Hohenheim ignored his rant questions and began to explain. "Myra suffered through many traumas. Physically, mentally and emotionally. Human transmutation wasn't the only long lasting affect from her time with the homunculi."

"What are you saying old man—?!"

"In the end, the torture she endured was too much for her body to take... The torture resulted in her current illness."

Ed's voice shook. "I-Illness?"

"Myra will live until the Promised Day, but after that, her life is not guaranteed."

( **A/N:** Sorry for the short chapter! But I thought it'd be better to end it here)


	25. Seeking Shelter

A voice seemed to shout. It sounded hollow, like it was far away.

"My!" It said.

"Myra!" It shouted again, but this time sounding closer.

"Please wake up..." The voice begged.

Myra complied with the voice's wishes, slowly fluttering her eyes open. She recognized the golden eyes in front of her that greatly resembled her own.

"E-Ed?" She managed to say, trying to snap out of her drowsiness. She was leaning with her back against the wall. The casings around her hands were shattered and its remains were scattered across the ground. Myra easily guessed that it was Ed's doing.

"You-You had us so worried..." Ed let his head drop, allowing his bangs to hide his golden orbs. "When we found out you were taken again... It felt so much like before. We weren't with you and then—"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you like that, I—" Myra was cut off when Ed abruptly hugged her, his head buried in her shoulder.

She was about to say something when a muffled sob escaped him.

Myra gently wrapped her arms around him. "I scared you, didn't I?" She spoke softly.

Ed raised his head a little so his words weren't muffled, "Al and I... we thought we might have lost you again. I met Hohenheim... you're sick... you're not gonna— That's what the old man was telling me! Tell me he's lying!" Ed's golden eyes were pleading. Myra had never seen Ed in such a state before and it hurt her seeing him like this.

She wanted to deny it. She wanted to tell both Ed and Al that she wasn't sick. That she is perfectly healthy and that everything was going to be okay. But she knew better than to lie.

"I'm so sorry, Ed." Myra's voice cracked as she held back tears. Ed's own tears trickled down his face. His eyes now held sadness and regret. "I wanted to tell you and Al sooner, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Then when I finally decided to tell you, we got separated and the timing was never right... I know it's not a good excuse, but I guess I just didn't want to distract you guys from getting your bodies back."

"You're right," Ed said. "It's a stupid excuse!"

"I'm so sorry. I should have told you two sooner." Myra's face was solemn. "Does Al know?"

Ed slowly nodded his head as he wiped his face with his sleeve. "He met Hohenheim before I did, so he knows."

"How did he take it?" Myra asked.

"How do you think?!"

Myra didn't open her mouth to speak, so he continued, "It's similar to what happened to Mom. This explains why you froze up in Briggs. I-I don't want history to repeat itself, it—"

Myra cut him off, "It's not the same thing as what Mom had. It seems similar... but it's not."

"Dammit..." Ed clenched his teeth and his hands balled into fists at the immense amount of anger he felt. "It wasn't your fault! Your not like Al and I who _chose_ to perform human transmutation! You were _forced_ into it after a year of being _tortured_! You've been forced to live with all of this when you've slowly been dying this entire time?!"

Myra pulled him into a tight embrace. "I'm at least going to live until after the Promised Day. Focus on getting your bodies back and defeating the homunculi father for now. _Then_ you can focus on me."

Despite being held in a cold underground, Myra's embrace was warm. And for a moment, Ed felt like they were kids back in Resembool. Back when they lived peaceful lives and when their mother was still alive.

"But—"

"No arguments." She stated firmly. "I'll help as much as I can. But I promise not to overdo it."

This seemed to satisfy Ed as he pulled away to look at her, "How are you feeling now?"

"Just a bit weak." Myra admitted.

Ed nodded, "We need to get you out of here. Can you stand?"

"I think so." But Ed didn't listen to what she had to say. He was already holding onto her elbow as he helped her up to her feet. Once she was standing, Ed made her lean against him for support.

It was true, Myra's face was a little paler and she felt weaker than before. Ed noticed this and they began walking.

"How much longer until the Promised Day?" Myra asked.

"It's in a few days. You need to rest as much as you can until then." Ed replied.

"Mommy, look at this!"

"Hmm?" Gracia turned her head to look at her daughter, Elicia. Her attention suddenly shifted, however, when she heard a knock at the door. "Just a minute, dear, I'm going to see who it is."

Gracia walked over to the door, with Elicia playing in the background, and opened it. She gasped when she saw a pale Myra being supported by Ed.

"Gracia, if you don't mind, we need a favour." Myra looked at the woman who had acted as a surrogate mother to her during the years after escaping the homunculi.

"Oh my goodness! Myra, Ed, come in." She hastily moved out of the way to make room for the two to enter.

"Myra, you don't look like you're doing well." Gracia fussed over her as she helped Ed bring her to the couch. "...it's your illness, isn't it?" She hesitated before asking sadly.

"Wait a minute..." Ed drifted off as they sat down and Gracia left to make tea.

"Hughes found out about it, and after a while, was forced to tell Gracia." Myra explained.

"Big Sister Myra!" Elicia shouted as she tried to launch herself onto Myra's lap.

Before she could though, Ed caught her and started tickling her, "Easy there, Elicia, my sister's not feeling very well right now."

"Big Brother Ed!" Elicia called through her giggle fit. She then stopped laughing, "Hmm? Your sister?" She looked up at the two confused, causing Myra to chuckle lightly.

Ed let out a small laugh, "That's right! Myra, here, is my older sister." He said, pointing a thumb in her direction.

Elicia was excited about hearing this. A huge grin spread across her face as she went to hug the golden haired girl.

"Be careful, Elicia." Gracia said, concerned, as she set down a tray of tea. She poured three cups and handed one to Myra, then Ed. She sat across from them with the third cup in hand.

"Don't worry, it's fine." Myra smiled, pulling Elicia to her side while still keeping an arm around her.

"You always said my tea helped to make you feel better." Gracia said teasingly.

"It does, thank you." Myra said taking a sip, colour already returning to her face. Gracia stared at the two Elrics.

"You knew that we're siblings." Myra said, looking at Gracia.

Gracia gave a sad smile, "My husband told me. He told me after he had met you and Al, actually." She said looking at Ed. "He kept going on about you three and how you _look_ like siblings," she chuckled. "Especially since Myra was always so vague when talking about anything to do with her past."

"Wait," Ed said in realization, "Is that why he was so open and willing to accept Al and I from the start?"

"Knowing Maes, you're probably right." Gracia smiled.

"Can you stay?" Elicia suddenly asked, looking up at Myra with big hopeful eyes.

"Actually, that's what I wanted to talk to your Mom about." Elicia's face lit up as Myra turned to Gracia again. "Gracia, I was wondering if I could stay here for a few days? I'm not doing my best right now and—"

"Of course, Myra." Gracia smiled. "You're welcome to stay here anytime. And we've missed you, especially Elicia." Myra looked at Elicia who nodded excitedly in agreement.

"Please take care of her, Mrs. Hughes." Ed said politely.

"Don't worry, Edward. I'll do everything I can."

"Thank you."

Gracia nodded before turning to Myra. "Myra, how are you feeling?"

"Better than before now that I've had the tea." Myra said setting down her empty cup.

"Why don't you take a shower and I'll make dinner for the four of us."

"That sounds nice." Myra nodded, standing up.

"Are you going to be ok?" Ed asked with worry.

"Ed, you worry too much. I'll be fine." She said ruffling his hair as she walked past him.

Ed held a contemplating gaze as he determined what he should do next.

"I know you need to get back to everyone else," Myra spoke. "I don't want to be in your way."

"But, My, I'm—"

"—concerned for my health." She finished for him. "I know, but I've still got time. At least stay for dinner." Myra said walking off.

"But how _much_ time?" Ed whispered solemnly when Myra was out of earshot.


	26. Reconciliation

The warm morning sunlight that spread across Myra's face forced the blonde to open her eyes. She slowly sat up, reaching for her hearing aids. Placing them in her ears, she adjusted them properly.

She was in the room that Maes and Gracia had kindly lent her during her stay with them. Everything was almost just the way she last remembered it. The same wooden dresser sat across from the bed, the same dark blue curtains hung over the window and the same crack in the wall from the time Myra tried to use alchemy when she wasn't quite ready to be using it again. Just being in her old room felt nostalgic.

Myra recalled what happened yesterday after dinner. Ed needed to get back to the others and Gracia assured him that she'd take care of her. So with a goodbye hug and some final words, Ed left to rendezvous with the others.

His words echoed through her ears, _'We'll give the homunculi a good beating for you and everyone else they've hurt.'_

It brought a smile to her face.

Myra decided to get up. She swung her legs to the side of the bed and her bare feet made contact with the cool ground.

She stood up, but the second all of her weight went to her legs, they began to wobble. Myra grabbed the nightstand to help her keep her balance, but she quickly collapsed to the ground.

 _'Huh? Why am I suddenly so weak? Th-This can't be happening.'_ Myra's eyes widened in sudden realization. _'I'm going to be bedridden after the Promised Day, aren't I? Or even worse, I—"_

Myra heard rushed footsteps coming down the hall before the door swung open.

"Myra! What happened?" Gracia asked as she rushed to Myra's side, helping her to sit on the bed. "Are you alright?"

"I-I don't know... I just tried to stand up and then... I just fell." Myra stared at her hands folded in her lap. "Gracia, my strength keeps coming and going... it's only a matter of time before I..."

Gracia put a hand on top of Myra's causing her to look up. "I'm going to help you through this. For now, stay in bed. I'll bring you some breakfast."

An empty bowl sat on the nightstand as Myra fiddled with her fingers.

"Where's Elicia?" She asked, trying to break the silence.

"She's at her friend, Tabitha's, house." Gracia replied.

"Oh." Myra said, another moment of silence following.

"Myra, dear, talk to me." Gracia urged, concern in her voice.

Myra hesitated, "This wasn't supposed to happen... not yet. Ed and Al... There's still so many things that—"

"Myra..."

"Gracia... Ed said that what's happening to me right now is similar to what happened to our mother. I lied and told him that it wasn't because I didn't want to worry him. He and Al have so many other things they need to stay focused on, their last concern should be of me!" Myra ran a hand through her hair in frustration.

"Myra! Edward and Alphonse have gone _years_ believing that you were dead! You meant so much to them and you still do. Having you back in their lives must have been like a light in a dark tunnel." Gracia never broke eye contact with her as she spoke. "I spoke with Ed when you were in the shower. You always put your brothers before yourself and you've always protected them. But now, it's their turn to protect you. It's their turn to look after you just as you did for them when your mother passed away. Once the Promised Day is over, they'll come back to watch over you."

"But, their bodies—"

Gracia shook her head. "Ed seemed convinced. Despite what you told him, he's scared that history will repeat itself. He and Al agreed to it together."

"Those two..." Myra said, putting her head in her hands. "They both can be so stubborn sometimes." Her voice cracked. She refused to cry. "I don't want to do this to them."

"He seemed pretty angry, you know." Gracia began. "You, unlike the others, were forced to commit the taboo among alchemists. None of it was your fault, but yet you're the one suffering. They want to make the homunculi pay for that." Gracia paused, "And I'm sure your father feels a similar way as well."

Myra took a moment to process what Gracia had said. Despite everything that was happening right now, she felt content. Myra felt overjoyed to have a family that cares so much for her. Friends as well.

Her family that she cares so much for: Ed, Al, Hohenheim, Winry and Pinako.

Her friends that made life with the homunculi bearable: Drew, Ava and Oscar.

The people who took her in after her trauma and treated her like their own family: Maes, Gracia and Elicia.

Even the memories she shared with the people at Central: Colonel Mustang's complaining when he has a lot of paperwork, Lieutenant Hawkeye making sure he gets his work finished, 2nd Lieutenant Havoc's bad luck with girls, Major Armstrong's kind personality despite his looks and many others.

Myra couldn't even begin to count the laughter, smiles and jokes she shared with each person. Even if times were tough, it always helped to get through the day.

"Myra, do you have any regrets?" Gracia asked.

Determination welled up in her golden orbs, "Just one."

A few days passed and Myra's condition wasn't getting any better. Her physical condition had more ups and downs than a rollercoaster. A rollercoaster with a downward track. Her health is deteriorating.

Myra has also been getting bad feelings in the pit of her stomach and it was making her restless. She worried for Ed, Al and the others.

"Myra, dear, you don't need to help me cook. You should be resting." Gracia stressed.

Myra chuckled, "Gracia, right now I feel fine. I promise if I start to feel anything but fine, I'll take a break." She added the last part after Gracia gave her a look.

"By the way, where's Elicia?"

"She fell asleep on my lap before you got home so I put her in her bed." Myra replied while cutting some vegetables.

Gracia smiled as she stirred the pot. "You know, it got kind of lonely around here after you left. Elicia was down one big sister."

"I missed her too." Myra smiled in nostalgia. "But I heard Winry was able to keep her company for a while."

"Yes, Winry was a great help when she was here! She sort of reminded me of you."

Myra held a sheepish smile.

 _'I still never explained anything to Winry,'_ Myra mentally sighed. _'She deserves a proper explanation.'_

"The carrots are done." Myra said as she set the knife down.

"Great, I think the soup's just about ready for it." Gracia said.

Myra put all of the chopped carrots into the pot and stirred it.

"Myra, could you get me some potatoes from the pantry?"

"Sure thing."

Myra set down the cutting board before walking down the short hallway to the pantry. She was about halfway there when the bad feeling returned.

She felt buzzing under her feet and Myra braced herself as she looked down just in time to see a giant eye appear exactly where she was standing. A bright light illuminated off of it and blue electricity crackled like fireworks. Myra knew exactly why this was happening.

"Myra!" Gracia came rushing to see what the noise was.

Several long black arms came from the eye and latched onto Myra. "Stay back!" She told Gracia as she struggled against the arms. Wherever they touched, that part of her body would start deteriorating into thin air.

Despite her warning, Gracia still reached out, grabbing Myra's hand. But it was no use as Myra's hand soon, too, deteriorated along with the rest of her body.

Once its work was done, the eye closed, and vanished as if nothing had happened.


	27. The Promised Day

Myra held in a scream as she felt herself being materialized and plummeted to the ground.

She let out an "Oof!" when she made contact with the hard ground. Myra groaned as she rubbed her head, sitting up.

"Myra?" Called a familiar voice.

"Ed?" Myra looked in his direction.

Ed suddenly began to panic, "Are you alright? How are you feeling?" He said as he rushed to her side to help her stand up.

"Ed, relax, I'm fine!" Myra was about to ask if he was alright when the sound of another person hitting the ground made them both turn their heads.

"Teacher?!" They both yelled simultaneously.

"Ed? Myra?" Izumi called her names, still slightly in a daze, as she sat up.

Myra and Ed both stared at each other.

" _She's_ your alchemy teacher?!" Ed exclaimed, shocked.

"Who knew that we'd have the same teacher..." Myra mused.

"We can talk about that later, you two." Izumi said, coming back to her senses. The two nodded in agreement.

"Are you alright?" Myra asked as she crouched by her teacher's side.

"More or less," She replied. "Do you have any idea where we are?"

"Not a clue." Ed answered for them both. "We just ended up here the same way you did."

What sounded like a large piece of metal falling behind them caused the trio to look in its direction.

"Al!" Ed and Myra yelled as the three rushed to his side.

"Al, too?" Izumi said to herself as Ed tried to get Al to wake up. "Are all the sacrifices being gathered?"

"I think so," Myra said. Izumi looked at her. "I think they want us to finally fulfill our roles as sacrifices."

"What?" Ed stopped his yelling to look at her, a look of confusion written on his face.

A purple silhouette form with eyes all over his body approached. It had a mouth to speak from and he began counting each of the sacrifices in a voice that sent shivers down their spines.

A subdued Hohenheim was half inside him, his body upside down.

"Dad!" Myra yelled.

Hohenheim grunted before opening his eyes. "Myra! And Edward. It seems they've got Alphonse as well. Ah and Izumi Curtis, you'd have to excuse my sorry appearance." His nonchalant voice didn't seem to fit the situation.

"Hohenheim, what is that thing?!" Ed demanded to know.

"A copy of me. You might know him better as the one the homunculi call, 'Father'." His voice sounded strained, as if it was a struggle for him to speak in his current position.

"You mean _this_ is that bearded bastard?!" Ed's blood began to boil.

"Yes," Hohenheim replied slowly. "I destroyed the leather bag he was in, but—" he was cut off by Father completely engulfing him inside his body.

"I warned you to keep your mouth shut, Hohenheim." Father said tauntingly. "And now, _welcome_ to the four of you. Make yourselves at home."

The three got into a battle ready position. "Hey, Al, time to get up. Things aren't looking too good for us." Ed said.

No response, no movement.

"Al!" Myra tried.

Still nothing.

"Al, get up!"

"Alphonse!"

"Well, well," said a voice. "How lovely is it to see all five sacrifices come together." Pride emerged from the darkness with an evil sneer on his childish face.

"I wish I could say that makes all five of the required sacrifices, but Alphonse Elric has not arrived yet." Father said, a hint of impatience in his voice. "The truth can be such a cruel thing. Two brothers who wanted to feel their mother's warmth once more. One lost two limbs while the other lost his entire body in exchange for a suit of armour that could feel nothing. The woman who sought to bring back her only baby was given a body that could never again bear children. And then! The girl who ended up being the only success in my project to create sacrifices had not only her hearing taken away, but also gained an illness that is slowly killing her from the inside out." He gave a creepy wide smile.

"So you _planned_ on creating your own human sacrifices to ensure you had five for the Promised Day?!" Ed's anger rose.

"Of course! Most died and two escaped, but with one success, you fools fit right into place. For those who play God, there is a price that must be paid. _That_ is truth!"

"No!" Ed exploded. His hands clenched and his teeth grit as he said, "If my sister had done it on her own free will, that would be one thing. But to force someone to perform human transmutation against their will and steal her eyesight only to have her slowly dying... You think that's truth? Well that's not a truth I'm willing to accept!" Ed yelled.

Myra moved to stand next to Ed. When she was almost by his side, her head suddenly began to throb, forcing her to crouch down in pain.

"Myra!" Ed crouched down to her level. He turned to the homunculi father and Pride, "You bastards!"

Izumi crouched down to Myra's level too, "You need to take it easy."

Myra stubbornly shook her head. "Not now. Not... when all of this is happening."

"But you're—"

Izumi was cut off when May crashed through the ceiling after an explosion. She ran up to Ed.

"May Chang!" He said.

"There he is." She said looking to Father. Then she spotted Al on the floor and rushed to his side. "Oh, Alphonse, what happened to you?"

"I don't know," Ed answered. "We can't get him to wake up."

"Please wake up, Alphonse!" She cried out desperately.

"In the meantime, Myra, you..." Ed trailed off when Myra coughed. What he saw made his eyes widen and waver.

On her hand laid a splatter of blood.

"M-Myra... No, this isn't..."

"Ed, I'll be fine. Focus on the task at hand!" Myra struggled to speak. Her breathing coming out in ragged breaths.

Before Ed could argue, Al's eyes lit up with life. He gasped as if he had just woken up from a nightmare and sat up. Everyone rushed to his side.

"Al!"

"Al, are you alright?"

Al looked at all of them. "Brother, Sister, Teacher, May... That means we're..." Al trailed off when he turned to see Pride and the homunculi father.

"And now," Father began. "All five are here."


	28. Where Strength Is Needed Most

"We need to get out of here," Izumi whispered to Myra. "Can you stand?"

Despite her whispers, Father's sharp hearing still managed to pick up her words. "Escaping is futile." He said.

May stepped up. She told the brothers that she'll fight the homunculi father while they fought Pride. They were reluctant at first, but soon agreed.

"I'll help too." Myra said from behind them. She tried to stand, only to fall back to her knees. Izumi helped her to keep her balance.

"No, My." Ed stated firmly.

"We'll take care of it, Sister. You should escape with Teacher. I know about your condition and you really shouldn't be involved in this fight." Al stressed with a voice full of concern.

"I need to—"

"You're coughing up blood, My!" Ed shouted in a shaky voice.

"You've done enough, so please, let us handle it." Al's voice was gentle, almost begging, as he crouched to his knees to be at Myra's level.

Myra stared up at her brothers with eyes of pride. ' _When did you boys grow up?'_ She thought, the smallest of smiles etched onto her lips.

That smile soon turned into a smirk as Myra gave them a look that said, _good luck_.

Ed and Al gave her bright looks when they saw her smirk and nodded in understanding.

Izumi put Myra's arm over her shoulder and gave a nod towards the brothers. The two gave a knowing look before turning back to their opponents, clapping their hands together and slamming them to the ground.

Blue crackles as well as several stone pillars came up from the ground, separating everyone into three groups and away from the others so they can each go their individual route.

Izumi supported most of Myra's weight as they moved as fast as they could. They moved down a rather large corridor that looked like it was falling apart due to the chaos everyone was causing.

"Myra, don't make that face. You can't do much in your condition." Izumi told her in a stern, but somehow gentle voice.

"I can't help it," Myra admitted with a sigh. "Ed and Al are fighting Pride, May's fighting the homunculi father, Scar could be fighting Wrath right now and everyone else is fighting their own battles. I don't even know where Greed or the others are or how bad the situation really is!"

"And you don't _need_ to know," Izumi said bluntly. "Not now. Just focus on yourself."

She knew it was useless to argue against someone like Izumi Curtis, especially since she is her old sensei and teacher. So Myra kept her mouth shut.

"Dead end." Izumi cursed under her breath as she glared at the wall in front of them. "There might be another exit if we go back."

"He said it himself, we can't escape..." Myra said weakly. "Not until he's finished with us."

Izumi looked at her. Deciding to give the blonde the push she needed she said, "It sounds like you're giving up. Has everything that's happened to you finally changed you?" She said tauntingly.

Myra didn't hesitate. Her lips formed a smirk as she looked up at her teacher. Izumi smiled seeing the girl's golden orbs burning with the will to live. The will to stay alive for as long as she could.

"No way in hell."

Izumi's grin grew a little wider, "Then, let's go. We'll help the others when we can."

Myra nodded as the two turned around and began walking again. The light sound of their footsteps echoed off the walls.

"How are you holding up?"

"My strength comes and goes... and right now," Myra's lips turned upwards in another smirk, slowly moving her weight back to her own legs and removing her arm from around Izumi's shoulder. "I think I can stand on my own."

Izumi stood ready to help her, but Myra's eyes still burned with determination. ' _You're hanging onto your life by a thread, Myra. Just keep up that determination until after the Promised Day and you'll have a good chance of surviving_.' Izumi could only hope for the best for her former student.

Myra took a deep breath. Placing her right foot in front of her, she continued walking back down the corridor with Izumi trailing behind her.

Myra and Izumi arrived just in time to see Ed head-butting Pride. Myra used her alchemy to create several sharp swords from the concrete ground. Izumi created a large crossbow from the same material.

The two signaled each other before launching their weapons at the homunculi father.

"This doesn't seem like a fair fight!" Myra shouted.

"Hands free alchemy, huh?" Izumi said.

"Myra! Teacher!" The brothers shouted upon seeing them.

Unfortunately, the girls' attacks vanished in red crackles right in front of Father's face.

"It appears the time is upon us."

No one had time to react and barely anytime to move before Father released several long arms from his body.

Myra was swift enough to get into a battle ready stance, but two arms grabbed her shoulders and circled around her body. With her arms stuck to her side, her strength was no match compared to Father as his arms – which were wrapped tightly around her – lifted her and the other sacrifices off their feet and slammed them to the ground, forming a square around himself.

Myra laid on her back, struggling to get on her knees. Though each sacrifice shot Father glares that could kill.

"I'm done indulging in your nonsense." He said. "It's time to put you to work, my sacrifices!"

It was almost time for a solar eclipse. It was almost time to finally indulge in the country wide transmutation circle.

"I shall use you as sacrifices to open the planet's gateway!" He announced.

"That's a pretty good plan, pops!" A voice said from behind him.

"Where'd he come from?!" Pride shouted from the sidelines as Greed slashed his father's head. Father turned into a large purple puddle with a thick viscosity at Greed's feet.

"Greed...?" Myra stared at him in disbelief. ' _Did he really just take him out? No... there's no way that would work!_ '

"Greed!" Myra called.

"What?" Before Greed could glance in her direction, Father's several eyes and rather overly-large grin reappeared in the puddle at Greed's feet.

The puddle swiftly moved to the other side of the room, by a table with old papers. Its arms dragging the sacrifices along with him.

Myra fell to her side as she felt herself being hauled across the floor.

Father's laugh was maniacal as he took on a form similar to his previous one, outstretching his arm.

"The very centre of this world... is right here!" He slammed his hand onto the paper with the nationwide transmutation circle drawn on it.

Five red streaks shot out from the paper. Myra gasped as one ran directly by her head. She winced as she looked around the room. The room glowed a red so bright that it was almost scarlet. They could feel the earth around them moving. But even through the blinding light, Myra noticed the other four sacrifices staring at the homunculi father with a strong disliking as he continued his maniacal laughter.

"You bastard!" Hohenheim shouted over the loud rumbling of the Earth.

Myra felt an odd feeling. She looked down and saw a giant eye appear on her stomach. She didn't need to look up to see that it was happening to the other sacrifices as well.

She heard Ed and Al scream, but she held back hers as the eye on her stomach sprouted several long arms that went up to the homunculi father.

Strong gusts of wind suddenly emitted from him, causing Greed and May to stand their ground so they wouldn't get blown back.

Father began the transmutation. The energy in the air is both powerful and ominous. It's nothing Myra had ever felt before, and it made her uneasy.

The air was getting thinner and Myra had to take more breaths of oxygen into her lungs.

It took a few moments, but she realized that her troubled breathing was not due to the transmutation happening around her. Her lungs were contracting, making it difficult to breathe.

'This is really bad timing!' She thought, doing her best to remain as calm as possible in a situation where the whole world was about to die.

Myra continued her irregular breathing as she focused on the ongoing nationwide transmutation.

The red lights that illuminated the room kept getting brighter and brighter until it was almost blinding. The ground beneath them trembled and the noise was deafening.


	29. Resolution

The five sacrifices each groaned as they slowly picked themselves off the ground. The eye on their stomachs were gone along with the sinister arms that previously restrained them.

The only reason they survived was because they were currently in the centre of the nationwide transmutation circle.

"Is everyone alright?" Myra asked the group. She noticed that although her breathing wasn't currently the best, it was better than it was a few moments ago.

"You have done well, my sacrifices." Father said from behind. Myra swivelled around to face him.

He was no longer in that abnormal form. Instead, he now looked a lot more like Hohenheim's doppelgänger.

Hohenheim's eyes widened in astonishment. "You mean you actually did it?!"

"Yes," Came his reply. "I have acquired God."

"Acquired God?!" Ed shouted bewildered. "That isn't possible!"

"It _can_ be..." Hohenheim cut in.

"A Philosopher's Stone!" Myra gasped in realization. Hohenheim nodded.

"What?!"

"It can't be!" Al piped in.

"How many lives were sacrificed for this?" May asked, her voice dropping in utter shock.

"Amestris is a large country," Myra gritted her teeth. "At least fifty million people." She glared daggers at Father and May gasped.

Ed cursed and tried to use his alchemy against Father. But with a single tap of his finger, he was able to nullify Ed's alchemy.

Then, to show off his power, Father created a miniature version of the sun to fit in the palm of his hand. Everyone either gawked or narrowed their eyes at the intensity of his newfound powers.

Hohenheim began explaining his countermeasure before Father could annihilate them. He explained how he traveled the country for years, placing fragments of his own Philosopher's Stone into the Earth to use as a foundation for returning the Amestrian souls to their bodies.

Father's eyes widened as he felt a sudden pain. "So what? You have merely planted your points. They will not activate without a circle!"

"We do have one. One that would even self-activate. The moon's shadow: cast upon the world by the eclipse!"

A different aura suddenly surrounded the atmosphere and Father felt another surge of pain. Hohenheim's countermeasure was beginning.

"Even now you think you can stop me?!" He spewed.

Hohenheim stood firm. "That's the very reason why I came back! Remember your place, _dwarf in the flask_!"

Father grunted in pain. Clasping the minuscule sun in his hands until it disappeared.

Everyone stared in awe for a brief moment.

Father cried out in pain as millions of souls rushed out of his body in swirling motions. They went up to the sky before dispersing all over Amestris.

Father slouched in the aftermath of such immense pain.

"Did it...?" Ed began.

"It worked." Myra gawked.

"Yes." Hohenheim confirmed. "The people of Amestris have had their souls returned. And now I doubt that _he_ can control that of which he calls God."

Father fought through the pain to try and stand up. Everyone had their guards up. "I can always... create another stone! I am not through!" He said, voice strained.

He created a large purple orb and shot it at Hohenheim. Fortunately, Hohenheim was swift and redirected the attack to the sky.

Father let out a battle cry as he unleashed a massive amount of power at the group. But before it could hurt anyone, a glowing circle appeared from under them.

"May!" Al said.

"The greater the power the other side has, the greater the power that I can use becomes!" May yelled over the loud noises to explain. She was crouched down, hands placed on the circle to keep it active.

A large amount of dark purple energy was launched at the group. Hohenheim held his hands out, trying to stop the energy in its spot, but Father wouldn't give up.

"I don't have what it takes to fight his energy!" Hohenheim said.

"Please try your best, I can't hold on much longer!" May cried.

"It's no use!" Hohenheim struggled against Father's power. That is, until he felt three pair of hands on his back.

"C'mon Dad, hang on!" Al urged.

"Can't you even do this?!" Ed shouted. "Just stay focused!"

"You can't give up, Dad! We won't let you!" Myra used as much strength as she could muster to help her family.

Hohenheim looked at his kids in awe before turning back to face Father and smirking, "I can only do so much. I'm just an old man, but I'll give it everything these old bones can do!"

It was in that moment that he sensed Scar's transmutation. "It's coming!" He tells them.

Ed, Al and Myra slam their hands to the ground, shooting harpoons from the ground at Pride and Father, making him stop his attack.

Scar's brother had created a way to negate the inhibitor and free up the Earth's energy for alchemical use. After that, Scar created a reverse circle to correct the corrupted alchemy of this country.

"Your little throne has been reduced to rubble!" Ed chided. He tore off his coat; Al, Myra and Izumi behind him in a ready position. "I'll take you down and the truth along with you!"

"Sister, let us fight him." Al turned to Myra. "We'll take it from here."

Myra hesitated for a brief moment, but nodded. She didn't want to hinder them. So instead, she watched Ed, Al and Izumi fight from afar using only their alchemy.

Her decision to oblige to Al's request seemed to be the right one, Myra thought, when she felt a pain in her chest. She clutched the fabric of her shirt by her heart, slowly sinking to the floor on her knees.

She looked up only when she heard Greed's voice and Ed yelling at him to leave the fight to them.

The next thing she knew, Father was gone as everyone stared at the huge gaping hole in the ceiling.

"That bastard! He's going to try to make another Philosopher's Stone." Hohenheim told them.

Izumi turned to Myra. "Let's move you someplace safe."

"I'm sorry," She said with guilt. "I didn't expect to be so useless." Izumi patted her shoulder, silently telling her that it was not her fault and that no one blamed her.

Ed was forced to stick around to finish his fight with Pride with Al and May deciding to go with Izumi.

Before they lifted themselves to higher levels of the building, Myra shouted, "You better not lose to him, Ed!" She tried to cover up how strained her voice sounded, hoping that no one would notice.

"Don't worry, I won't!" He said in reply.

With a nod to Izumi to let her know that she was ready, Izumi placed her hands on the ground. The floor around them broke into a circle as they felt themselves elevating.

Soon, the darkness that had just recently surrounding them got much brighter. Once they reached a higher level Myra noticed Sig, Hawkeye, Major Armstrong and a few others.

Sig and Izumi embraced in a hug. "Darling!" She cried.

Myra's attention immediately turned to Hawkeye. "Are you going to be alright?" She asked upon seeing the blonde covered in blood.

"Don't worry about me. I can still fight." She responded confidently.

"Are you sure?" May asked and Hawkeye nodded as if she was hardly injured at all.

Myra looked around. "Where's Mustang?" She asked.

Hawkeye's eyes became solemn as her gazed shifted to the floor. She slowly moved to the side.

Behind her sat an injured Mustang with smudges of dried blood on his face. His eyes were shut with a long slash along...

"You're blind..." Myra's voice was barely audible as she stared with shocked disbelief.

"All thanks to Pride and that crazed doctor." He said, venom in his voice. "How are you holding up?" His tone suddenly going back to normal.

"I've seen better days." Myra said, running a hand through her gold hair.

"Guess we're both pretty useless." He smirked and Myra gave a half smirk in return. "But we don't have to be out of the running yet." He said conspiratorially.

Myra raised a brow in curiosity, interested in whatever idea he had. "What did you have in mind?"


	30. The End Draws Near

( **A/N:** To the Guest who commented on chapter 10 saying they wanted to make a movie out of this fic; That makes me so incredibly happy and I'm so glad that you think highly of this fic 3 I would love to see it when it's finished!)

"So, do you think you can do it?" Mustang asked May. Myra stood in front of her, already surrounded by five of May's kunai.

May nodded determinedly. "It may not be permanent, but I can temporarily ease most of your physical symptoms." She said to Myra. "Metaphysical healing practices _is_ how a portion of how Eastern Alchemy was created, after all."

"How long will it last?" Myra asked.

"About an hour at best if I put my full power into it." May responded.

"One hour? That's plenty of time." A smirk edging its way onto Myra's lips. "I'm ready when you are."

May nodded, then turned to the others. "Before I start, I need everyone to stand back a bit." Mustang, Hawkeye, Armstrong, Olivier and everyone else present did as asked, taking a few steps backwards to make room for her to work.

"Are you sure about this, Myra?" Olivier asked the girl.

"It can't be any worse than what I'm prepared for." She answered.

"Ready, Myra?" May asked, eyes full of focus. The said girl nodded.

May placed her hands on the ground, activating the alchemy circle around Myra. The familiar blue light illuminated off of her. She stared in wonder as she began feeling a difference almost immediately. The blue light continued to crackle around her for a few moments.

The individuals present stared in awe.

When the glowing stopped, Myra looked down at her hands, opening and closing them a few times. Her body felt lighter than it has in weeks. Her head was clear and focused. Myra felt ready to join the fight.

"Did it work?" Izumi asked from the sidelines.

Myra looked up at May and smiled. "Thank you. This feels a lot better than before."

"Oh it's no problem for Alphonse's sister!" May gave a wide smile. But it turned serious when she said, "Still, you shouldn't overdo it. If you do, my treatment won't even last an hour."

"I understand." Myra nodded.

"Ok, now that that's been taken care of," Mustang began. "For those of you who are going to help fight the homunculi father: do you remember the plan?" He addressed the group.

In response, he received several sounds of solidarity.

"Good. Then I don't need to repeat myself." He said. "Let's begin."

May, Izumi and the others who were well enough to fight went ahead to join the battle first. May was desperate to get back to the others; they all were. Mustang and Hawkeye stayed behind for a bit before leaving to join them on the battlefield.

As soon as the first group left, Myra turned to the whoever was left. "I should get into position too."

She started to leave, but halted in her tracks when Olivier called out to her.

"Listen here, Elric! You better not do anything pathetic like letting yourself get killed! Keep fighting, because there are people who don't want to lose you for a second time!"

Myra turned her head to look at the Major General. Olivier's eyes burned with authority and... unwavering faith in them.

Pictures of Ed, Al and Hohenheim flashed through her mind. As well as Oscar, Alice, Gracia, Elicia and all the friends she's made along her journey.

Myra smiled, "Major General, there is no way in hell I'm letting myself die because of that knowledge-obsessed _dwarf_. I'll make sure that he goes back to where he belongs."

In that moment, Myra could've sworn she saw Olivier's eyes soften in the slightest.

With one last glance, Myra ran ahead to get in her position. It's been so long since she was last able to move freely without her legs feeling like lead. Or to be able to run fast without feeling any physical pain. Myra felt a wave of bliss just to be able to feel... normal again - even if it is only temporary. For the first time in what feels like forever, she's able to fight alongside the people she cares about most.

Minutes passed and Myra was in her given position, hidden from sight from anyone and everyone around.

"I can't tell how much to throttle the flames." She heard Mustang say.

"You don't have to throttle them. Range 50! No, 53!" Hawkeye took on the job of being Mustang's eyes on the battlefield so he could still fight. Hawkeye, herself, wasn't in a good enough physical condition to fight, despite what she said earlier. But together, they made a powerful team.

"This clapping transmutation doesn't feel natural." Mustang complained, snapping his fingers and sending a huge blast towards Father. Unfortunately, he redirected the attack towards them.

Myra took that as her cue, stepping out from her hiding place, she clapped, then slammed her hands to the ground.

A small blue light crackled and traveled in a straight line until it was in front of the Colonel and 2nd lieutenant. A giant wall came up from the ground, protecting the two from the blast just in time.

When the flames passed, Hawkeye turned to Myra and gave her a relieved nod in thanks.

The female Elric then rushed towards Father. "Keep attacking! Don't give him any opportunities to fight back!"

Myra used her speed to her advantage, launching long range attacks with alchemy then moving to his blind spot to get in a short-ranged attack. Major Armstrong, Lan Fan and someone who used to be one of Kimblee's men followed her lead. It didn't work, however, when Father activated a temporary force field around him, blocking their attacks.

"Myra!" Ed yelled. "What the hell are you doing here when you're—?!"

"May used her alkahestry on me so I'm temporarily back to health!" Myra explained the her situation as briefly as she could.

Ed looked to May for confirmation.

Al was on the ground, his blood rune exposed. "What?" He asked in disbelief, turning his head to look at May who stood next him. She nodded with a smile, proud of her work.

Ed tried to find the right words, but only incoherent mumblings came out of his mouth. "Just don't overdo it!" He finally managed to say.

"I should be telling you two that!" Myra told her brothers.

Everyone kept attacking, until a large gust of wind forced each person to temporarily halt their attacks to hold their ground.

"None of our attacks have had an effect," Armstrong said, astonished. "We need to find a way through his defenses!"

The many soldiers who came to help were in a panic, despite doing their best to lend support.

That's when Greed showed up, trying to take on Father as well. Ed shouted his name, also going in for an attack.

Everyone began their attacks again, sending pillars from the ground and walls crashing into the enemy. A variety of short, mid and long-ranged attacks were tested and put together against the homunculi father by Myra and the others.

Father released some of his incredible power, with energy so powerful it sent everyone flying back. Ed's automail arm was shattered during the attack while Myra's left shoulder took the blow as she was tossed into a wall.

She stood her ground. But when Myra moved her hands to make a clapping motion, she had to bite her tongue to stop herself from crying out. Her right hand moved to grasp her upper left arm.

It's been dislocated. She knew that much. It would be extremely difficult to use alchemy now.

Despite being thrown back, Ed shouted to the group, "Don't give up yet!" As he tried to send a kick towards Father. Izumi tried to elbow him, Armstrong sent several punches his way and Myra tried to give a powerful uppercut, being careful to involve her left shoulder in little to no movement. They proceeded to attack him relentlessly, but absolutely none of their attacks were having an effect.

When he finally let down his shield, Ed tried to give another kick, but Father held up his arm to block it, then pushed him away towards Al.

Myra kicked a cloud of dust in the air to conceal herself. Her right hand formed a fist ready to strike. Father, despite the dust, effortlessly grabbed her fist, throwing her to the side as well. Myra reacted fast enough to not land on her dislocated shoulder, but the force of being tossed back still caused some pain.

It was then that Father suddenly clutched his head in agony. He began screaming as the red light of his powers emitted off of him.

"He's losing control!" Hohenheim told them. "He can't control his powers anymore!"

Father continued to scream, the power emitting off him grew bigger as he knelt to the ground. An ear-piercing scream rung through Myra's ears. His power was about to explode, she realized that.

Her eyes darted to the side. Her right hand gripped her upper arm again as she started running.

Time seemed to move in slow motion. Father's power was released in massive amounts of energy that knocked everyone off their feet.

The bright red light illuminated the field momentarily and a huge dust cloud was created.

His power is truly immense.

When the dust began to clear, several people lay on the ground unconscious, but one person stood out above the rest.

Ed's golden eyes were wide with immense shock. He tried to speak but was at a loss for words.

"N-No..." Al's voice shook and if he had a body, he knew he would be on the brink of tears.

Myra stood directly in front of them. Two sharp objects sticking out from her stomach. One was supposed to hit Ed. The other was supposed to hit Al's rune. And Myra took them both. One lodged in her liver, the other in her kidney. Two vital spots.

Blood slowly trickled down her face, but she ignored it and the pain she felt to pull out the objects piercing her insides. She collapsed at the same time both bloodied objects hit the ground.

Ed recovered from his shock quickly enough to catch her. Ed on one side of her, Al on the other.

"Someone, please! Get a doctor!" Al yelled and Ed fussed to stop the bleeding.

Al looked to May, "May," he said. But the girl merely shook her head in apology, she was unable to do anything in the situation.

"Al, Ed," Myra weakly said. "I-It's no use. Two vital spots were... hit."

"Idiot! Why'd you even do something like that?!" Ed yelled, his voice strained as he refused to cry.

"That was reckless!" Al joined in. "We could've stopped it ourselves!"

"Could you?" Myra asked and both boys were silent. "I did it because you're my brothers. I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you in your darkest times. I wasn't able to protect you, and I've regretted that from the moment I found out." Myra smiled the best she could, but that only brought tears to Ed's eyes and left Al speechless. Myra felt both of her hands being squeezed.

Blood slowly began to pool around her.

"Myra!" Hohenheim said frantically as he scrambled from the ground to run towards his three kids.

He sat next to Ed, staring at his daughter with a crestfallen face. He wasn't there when his wife died, but was he really going to witness his daughter's death?

The three males were thinking the same thing; first Trisha, now Myra.

"You still had time!" Ed said. "You were supposed to make it until after the Promised Day. You..." Ed trailed off when he realized how pale Myra was becoming.

Izumi, Armstrong and others who have regained consciousness watched from afar with their own crestfallen faces, wanting to give the family space.

"Ed... Al..." Myra struggled to say.

"Don't speak! Save your strength." Ed pleaded, hit fist clenched in his lap and his eyes shut tight in frustrations.

"We lost you once, we're not going to lose you again!" Al blurted.

"I'm glad I got to see you two again." Ed snapped his eyes open to look at his sister. "And I was finally able to protect you." And despite the pain, Myra managed to give them a bright smile.

Al let out a whimper and gentle tears began to roll down Ed's cheeks.

Myra's eyes shifted to Hohenheim. "And I'm so glad that I got to see you again too, Dad."

"Myra... I'm so sorry." Hohenheim was at a loss for words as he tried – but failed— to hide his emotions. Tears began to fill his eyes, but he refused to cry in front of his kids. He should at least try to be strong for them now. He failed to be a part of most of their lives. If he had not have left then maybe Myra would've never been kidnapped and forced to endure the hardships that she went through.

Trisha was the love of his life. He loved her more than anything. Together they had three beautiful children. But Trisha is dead, and now one of his children, his only daughter, will be joining her in the afterlife.

The mere thought shattered his heart all over again.

"I should've been there. Maybe if I didn't leave—"

"It's not your fault you left... Dad. You did what you had to do for yourself _and_ us." Her voice was quiet, but so sincere.

Myra began to see blurry spots in her vision and her eyelids began to droop.

"Don't you dare close your eyes, My!" Ed demanded after a sob managed to escape him.

Myra tried to speak, but found it difficult to move her lips. Her body felt very cold from the loss of blood. The only warmth she felt was from Ed and Al still holding onto her hands and the pool of her own blood that surrounded her.

"She's losing too much blood!" Hohenheim told them.

"A stone! A Philosopher's Stone!" Myra heard Father's crazed voice in the distance.

"Edward, Alphonse, go. I'll take care of her." Hohenheim told Ed sternly.

Myra couldn't make out what they were saying next. All she knew was that Ed was arguing with him.

Her eyes began to droop and she heard Al say something to her.

She then heard several voices telling her to keep her eyes open. But no matter how hard she tried, it proved to be extremely difficult. The grips on her hands tightened, but it was no use.

Myra soon gave in to the darkness.

( **A/N:** Aaaand the next chapter will be the last!)


	31. Trauma's End

It was like she was trapped in a dark room, unable to move. The only way out was to lift her heavy eyelids. Myra became aware of that fact a few seconds ago, but her thoughts were hazy and all she wanted to do was to fall back asleep surrounding by the warmth she felt.

But even so, Myra slowly opened her eyes, blinking away the blurriness.

A white ceiling was the first thing she saw. She took a moment to stare at a single crack where the ceiling met the wall. Myra slowly moved her head to the left and saw an IV. She then moved her head to the right and was met with two pairs of golden eyes that were similar to hers. It was in that moment that the haze filling her head cleared, and she was left with thoughts that were as clear as any sunny day.

Ed sat there with bandages around his body. Next to him sat Al... but Myra wasn't looking at a suit of armour. She was looking at _Al_... in the flesh _._ His hair appeared freshly cut and the way his bones looked to have merely a thin layer of skin deemed him extremely skinny, but that was to be expected. Two crutches leaned against the wall behind him. _Al got his body back!_

Myra saw their mouths move and read their lips.

"Sister?"

"My?"

Myra sat up immediately. Ed held out his palm to her. In it, she saw hearing aids. She noted that they were new ones. She quickly put them in her ears and adjusted them properly.

"You shouldn't move around too much." Ed scolded.

"How are you feel—"

"Al, you got your body back!" Myra exclaimed, cutting Al off. "And Ed, your arm! Did you get your leg back too?" She paused. "Why aren't I dead?"

The two boys exchanged glances before chuckles erupted from their throats.

"What's so funny?" Myra pouted.

Ed and Al stared at her with teary smiles.

"We're glad you're back, My."

She smiled back. "Now, are you going to tell me what happened?"

Ed and Al took turns telling her of how they defeated Father. He had unleashed more energy after Myra lost consciousness, impaling Ed and damaging Al's armoured body so much he couldn't move. They told her how Al sacrificed his body to get Ed's arm back, and how Ed gave up his alchemy to bring Al back.

"I'm so proud of you two." Words could not describe how proud Myra was of her two brothers. They've accomplished their goals, and made some pretty good friends along the way.

"Now explain how I'm still here." Myra demanded to know.

The two exchanged looks once again.

"You weren't dead yet. You were just unconscious due to blood loss. Hohenheim did what he could to keep you alive." Ed explained.

"So when Brother came to get me back, we both made a deal with Truth." Al said.

Myra looked horrified. "Wh-What did you give up?"

They both smiled as they said, "Alchemical knowledge," simultaneously.

"What?" Myra was bewildered.

"I can no longer use alchemy, so I gave up all of my alchemical knowledge." Ed said.

"I gave half, but I could always relearn those things." Al said.

"And... what did you exchange it for?" Myra feared the answer.

"Your health!" Al said.

"What?" Myra was confused.

"We traded our knowledge for your health; physical and anything else. You're going to live, My. You're going to be alright." Ed told her, trying to keep his emotions in check.

"You're now perfectly healthy!" Al summed up.

Myra sat there wordlessly for a moment, trying to process all of the information she was just given.

"You know, we—"

Al, however, was cut off again. Myra gently grabbed his frail body and pulled him into a tight hug.

Al hesitated. It's been so long since he's felt an embrace so warm. One that felt like his mother's. He felt like the kid he was in Resembool so many years ago.

"Alphonse, I'm so glad you're back..." Myra whispered, tightening her grip on him. Al's eyes were quick to fill up with tears, and they soon spilled over as he began to cry.

Myra kept one arm around Al as she reached over with her other arm to hug Ed just as tight. His own tears starting to stream down his face.

"I'm so happy that you're both okay." Myra choked back a sob, but to no avail as gentle tears rolled down her cheeks. "You two always manage to scare the life out of me... but I'm just glad that you're both safe!"

Both boys held onto her tighter, burying their faces in her shoulders as they cried.

"Alright, that's done. Let's move on to the next one." Riza said, setting a rather large book to the side before picking up another one.

"How many books are there?" Roy complained from his side of the hospital room.

"You never _were_ one to just sit and do your work." A familiar voice said from the doorway.

Roy smirked, "Well, _you_ sound like you're doing a lot better."

"Nice to see you doing well, Myra." Riza smiled at her.

"Likewise," She said. "So how are you holding up?" Myra directed her question to Roy, staring at the bandages wrapped around his eyes.

"I've seen better days." He sighed and although he couldn't see it, Myra rolled her eyes causing Riza to crack a smile.

"I heard you'll be getting your sight back soon." She said.

"More or less. Dr. Marcoh just so happened to have an extra Philosopher's Stone lying around. It was made from Ishvalans during the war, but I'll be using it to help Ishval." He said.

"But you want Havoc to be healed first." Myra guessed.

"Well, of course!" He said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Myra turned to leave, "Well, I just came to see how you two were doing."

"You know, Myra. If you want, we could use the Philosopher's Stone to give you back your hearing as well." Roy offered. Riza looked up from the book in her hands, eyes covered with curiosity as she waited for her answer.

But Myra didn't hesitate to decline, "No thanks. I'm doing fine with just hearing aids. Plus it's a pretty good reminder." Roy smirked.

"You've grown up, Myra." Riza noted with a fond smile.

"Well, a lot's changed." She replied before walking out of the room.

Myra walked down an empty hall. There was a step in her stride. One that she hasn't had since she was a kid.

"Is there a special reason why you're here?" Myra asked as she passed a boy leaning against a windowsill.

"Well, yes." He replied. "I have something for you."

Myra turned around to face him, tilting her head curiously. "Oh?"

"Drew had a feeling he wasn't going to make it. He asked me to give this to you after you found your brothers, and I thought now was a good time."

He handed Myra a slightly old envelope with her name written on the back in neat writing.

"Thank you, Oscar." Myra smiled.

"Don't mention it." He turned to leave, but stopped himself. "By the way, Ava and I were wondering if you'd think the three of us could team up again, doing what we did before, but without anyone telling us what to do."

Myra hesitated before responding, "You know what? That sounds like a great idea... but not yet. First, I'm going to go back to Resembool. I'm going to try to make up for the years that I've missed with my family and friends. But after that, I just might take you up on that offer." She said with a playful wink. "I don't want anyone to have to go through what we did."

"We thought you might say that." Oscar said. "Well, whenever you're ready, or if you ever need anything, you know how to find us."

"Same here, Oscar."

"Take care of yourself, Myra. Your brothers, too."

"I will."

With one last glance, Oscar disappeared out the window.

Myra looked out at the afternoon sun. She was supposed to meet Ed and Al this evening so they could catch the train to Resembool. She let her thumb run across where her name was neatly written on the old paper. Without looking down at it, she shoved the envelope in her pocket before exiting the hospital to pack her stuff.

The sky was now a dull yellow as the sun was in the process of setting. Three Elrics and their teacher stood by the train station, suitcases at their feet.

"So, are you three gonna be okay?" Izumi asked them.

"Don't worry about us, we'll be fine." Al assured her.

"By the way," Ed began. "You never told us that My was once your student too." He turned to Izumi.

"It didn't seem like my place to tell you." Izumi shrugged, causing an irk mark to appear on Ed's head and Al and Myra to sweat drop.

"I was reluctant to take you each in as my students." Izumi said in nostalgia. "But I saw in your eyes what I saw in Myra's eyes, and I couldn't say no."

"Did you know from the start that we were siblings?" Al asked.

"I didn't know right away that you two were her younger brothers, but I figured it out quickly. Myra did talk about you two a lot; of how she was getting stronger for her brothers, and hoping that they were both doing well and not getting into trouble. I guess I now understand why she was so worried." Izumi smiled. "She tried to accelerate her training so she could come home sooner, but that didn't go as she planned." She laughed at the memories of Myra trying to speed up her training, but having it only end in frustration during the rush.

The four laughed at either the memory or just the mere thought as the train pulled into the station.

"We'll see you soon, Teacher." Myra said as she grabbed both her and Al's suitcases as she hopped onto the train.

The two boys said their own goodbyes as Ed helped Al onto the train with his crutches, taking his suitcase with him.

Two sat across from one as the train began to move. It didn't take long for the two boys to feel drowsy.

"Hey, My?" Ed yawned with his eyes half open.

"Hmm?"

"Did you know Greed?"

Myra stared out the window, "Not really, no. But he was the only homunculus who didn't seem half bad."

Ed and Al both just stared at her, so she continued, "The old Greed always ran off to do his own thing, so he had no involvement with me or the other hostages."

Ed and Al nodded in understanding. It didn't take long for them to fall asleep.

Myra silently chuckled at their sleeping faces.

Her hand reached into her pocket to pull out the envelope Oscar had given her.

She looked at the paper in her hands, playing with the edges as she debated on opening now as opposed to later.

After a moment of contemplation, Myra sighed, opening the envelope and pulling out a handwritten letter.

 _Myra,_

 _If you're reading this, then I'm probably dead. I'm sorry. I always had a feeling that I'd never make it out alive. But more than anything, you, Oscar and Ava deserve to._

 _You must have met up with your brothers by now. I couldn't be happier for you! I'd tell you to protect them and watch over them, but you'd do that anyway._

 _My last wish is that you live a happy and fulfilling life. Live for the ones who didn't make it and for yourself as well. Nothing will be easy after escaping the homunculi, but none of us expected it to be. Whatever happens in the outside world; don't give up. Even if it's been a while, we still_ do _have a place in this world and we're much more than just experiments. I know the past year has been one of the worst, but it can only get better from here._

 _Just know that you're the smartest, most determined and kind-hearted person that I've ever met. You're incredibly skilled and have all the traits it takes to become an amazing and well-known alchemist. You're capable of accomplishing so many great things._

 _Live your life with no regrets; protect your brothers, travel the world, meet new people. I only wish the best for you._

 _I'm sorry that I couldn't live to keep the promise that we both made._

 _And just know one thing: I love you. I have for a while._

 _—Drew_

( **A/N:** Thank you to all of my readers and anyone who favourited/reviewed. It really gave me the motivation to finish this story. Thank you so much for sticking with my slow updates and for reading this mediocre story all the way through. It truly means a lot to me 3)


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